WHO Leader Addresses Japan - South Korea Travel Restrictions

The leader of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to ‘stand together when confronting the COVID-19 disease outbreak’.

The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made this response on March 7, 2020, commenting on the diplomatic issue between Seoul and Tokyo over new travel restrictions.

“COVID-19 is a common enemy,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.

“And the only way we can beat this virus is when we stand together. … We call on all countries to stand in unison because it’s the united force that can help us to beat this as soon as possible.”

South Korea announced Friday that it was halting its visa waiver program and invalidating any travel permits already issued to Japanese starting Monday, in response to Japan’s decision to impose a two-week quarantine on all visitors from Korea and suspend visa-free entry for Koreans.

Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, said travel restrictions do not help COVID-19 containment efforts, but “hurt the response.”

“I think Japan and Korea are both doing a fine job in the face of this epidemic.”

“They’ve both scaled up their public health operations. They’re saving lives,” he said. “And I think we should focus on that and not necessarily on political spats over travel restrictions.”

Both South Korea and Japan have been hit hard by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which originated in China late last year.

As of March 7, 2020, Korea had reported 7,041 confirmed cases with 48 related fatalities.

And Japan has reported about 435 SARS-CoV-2 cases, 6 COVID-19 fatalities.

COVID-19 outbreak news is published by Coronavirus Today.