South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn called in Singapore Ambassador to South Korea Eric Teo on Mar. 4, 2020, to lodge a complaint on the heightened travel restriction against travellers with recent travel history to South Korea.

According to Yonhap, South Korea's foreign ministry "sternly protested" the decision.

Singapore announced that from March 4, 23:59pm, all new visitors with recent travel history to Iran, northern Italy and South Korea in the past 14 days will be barred from entering or transiting through Singapore.

This was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in light of the growing number of Covid-19 cases in those areas.

In response to Mothership's query, a spokesperson from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Teo explained to Kim why the additional measures were necessary:

“Our Ambassador in Seoul met the ROK Deputy Foreign Minister, and explained why our additional measures were necessary. He also reaffirmed that Singapore will work closely with the international community including the ROK to deal with the COVID-19 situation.”

Singapore is one of the 102 countries and territories worldwide that have imposed stricter travel restrictions on travellers from South Korea after the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

The total number of confirmed cases in South Korea surpassed 6,000 in the evening of March 5.

Foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha also called in Japan's Ambassador to South Korea to lodge a strong protest over Japan's additional restrictions for South Koreans.

Kang called the measures "unfriendly" and "unscientific", Yonhap reports.

According to Yonhap, South Korean authorities are "upset" because previously, it did not impose similar restrictions on other countries which are also experiencing an outbreak of Covid-19.

South Korea said that it could take "reciprocal" measures against Japan.

Top photo via South Korea foreign ministry's Facebook