S. Korea extends overseas travel watch until mid-Aug. amid pandemic fears

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry said Friday that it has extended its special overseas travel warning by another month until mid-August amid worries over the coronavirus pandemic.

The warning advising people against traveling overseas will be effective until Aug. 19 unless a further extension is made, according to the ministry.

The move represents the third extension this year since the travel warning was first issued in March. The current extension was set to expire Monday.

The latest decision was made based on the assessment of the current global situation surrounding the spread of COVID-19, and the steady number of imported cases of the highly contagious disease in South Korea, the ministry said.

On Friday, South Korea's health authorities reported 60 new confirmed infections of the coronavirus, including 39 imported ones, raising total cases to 13,672 since the first outbreak in mid-January here.
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