COVID-19: Reconsider travelling to Daegu, Cheongdo in S Korea, India to its citizens

The Indian embassy in South Korea has issued an advisory to its citizens urging them to "reconsider non-essential" travels to Daegu and Cheongdo county in Gyeongbuk in the wake of rising coronavirus cases in the East Asian country.

The South Korean government has declared Daegu and Cheongdo county as 'special care zones' to contain the spread of the virus.

"Korean Government has declared Daegu and Cheongdo county in Gyeongbuk as "Special Care zones". In this situation, please reconsider non-essential travel to these places," the Indian mission tweeted on Monday.

The embassy said it has been receiving phone calls and e-mails from several Indian nationals regarding the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 virus in South Korea over the past few days.

"ROK (Republic of Korea) government has today raised the virus alert level to 'red'. However, ROK Govt has also reported that these cases are largely centered in Daegu and the neighbouring north Gyeongsang province," the embassy said.

In this situation, the embassy advised people to take certain precautions to protect themselves from the virus including -- washing hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, wearing masks while using public transport and moving around outside.

It also advised the people to cough or sneeze into their sleeves, if they are not wearing a mask and to avoid public gatherings as much as possible, and refrain from contact with sick people.

"Avoid physical contact with strangers. The Indian 'namaste' greeting is best," the embassy said.

South Korea reported its seventh fatality from the new coronavirus and 161 new confirmed cases on Monday, bringing the total infections in the country to 763, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese health authorities have reported 409 new cases of coronavirus infection and 150 more deaths, taking its total cases to 77,150 and its total deaths to 2,592.