Korean visitors were banned from 9pm on Thursday.
Australian citizens and permanent residents returning from Korea will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days when they return home.
The Government said through joint media release that “the Australian Government’s highest priority remains the wellbeing and safety of Australians”
These measures are part of the ongoing strategy of containment and minimising risk to the Australian community as detailed in our pandemic preparedness plan.
The government said that they are grateful to the Government of the Republic of Korea for the transparent way it has dealt with this outbreak.
“It should be commended for its strong efforts in combatting COVID-19, including with its extensive testing regime.”
However, the government expresses that these actions are based on advice that the volume of reported COVID-19 cases in the Republic of Korea, and the scale of travel to Australia from the Republic of Korea, means that they present a high risk of further transmission of COVID-19 in Australia.
As of 5 March 2020, foreign nationals excluding permanent residents of Australia who are in the Republic of Korea on or after today will not be allowed to enter Australia for 14 days from the time they have left or transited through South Korea.
In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will raise the level of the travel advisory for the Republic of Korea to ‘reconsider your need to travel’ (level 3 of 4) up from ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ (level 2).
The level of the travel advice will also be raised to ‘do not travel’ to Daegu (level 4 of 4) because of the significant outbreak of COVID-19 there. People in the Republic of Korea should monitor their health closely and follow the advice of local authorities.
