Hong Kong Announce the Cancellation of All Package Tours to South Korea

The Hong Kong government on Tuesday issued a red alert warning against travel to South Korea, which is battling an outbreak of Middle East respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, said that Hong Kong has close links with South Korea which is a popular destination for package and study tours.

South Korean President Orders Proactive Measures to Minimize MERS Impact on Economy
Citizens in South Korea have refrained from outside activities for fear of being infected with the MERS virus. Tourism, too, has taken a hit in the country.

Issuing the Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) can give the tourism industry a clearer direction to do the follow-up work, said Lam, who also called on the public to avoid unnecessary travel to South Korea.

Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong’s Executive Director Joseph Tung Yiu-chung has announced the cancellation of all package tours to South Korea before June 30, excluding cruise tours.

Those who have signed up for South Korea tours before June 1 could have refund of tour fee and passenger departure tax from travel agencies, said Tung, who agreed that the red OTA can facilitate insurance companies’ work on the issue.

South Korean Authorities and World Health Organization to Conduct Joint MERS Probe
A joint team from WHO and South Korea will visit hospitals where MERS infections were identified and infected patients have been quarantined.

Since South Korea is a popular destination for tourists, Tung expected that around 10,000 to 12,000 tourists have been affected since the outbreak of MERS.

Under the three-colour OTA system, black is the highest alert, red the middle and amber the lowest.

Total Number of People Infected With MERS Virus Reach 50 in South Korea
The World Health Organization said it would send experts to South Korea for a joint mission with the government in collecting information of the MERS outbreak.

The MERS infection cases surged to 95 on Tuesday since the first case was reported on May 20. So far, eight infected people have died.

Source-IANS

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The number of infections rose to 64 after 14 new cases, including one death, of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) were confirmed in South Korea.