S. Korea widens travel advisory for Italy amid coronavirus concerns

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Wednesday expanded its travel advisory for Italy due to coronavirus concerns.

The foreign ministry issued a "blue" advisory for the whole of the country, except for its five northern and central regions that have already been subject to a higher-level alert.

The "blue" advisory, the lowest in the four-level alert system, calls for travelers' caution.

For the five regions hit hardest by the COVID-19 -- Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Piedmont and Marche -- the ministry has issued a "yellow" advisory, the third highest level that calls for travel restraint.

"As COVID-19 is spreading across Italy with restrictions on movement, we have issued this additional advisory in consideration of the concerns about the possibility of our citizens' exposure to infection," the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry said it would continue to review whether to alter the travel advisory level depending on the situations in Italy.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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