North Korea to Bar Tourists Over Ebola Concerns

North Korea will bar entry to foreigners on tourist trips from Friday, because of worries over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, according to operators of tours to the isolated country.

“We have just received official news from our partners in the DPRK that, as of tomorrow, tourists from any country, regardless of where they have recently visited, will not be permitted to enter,” said Gareth Johnson of Young Pioneer Tours, a travel company based in China that runs tours in North Korea. DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

International travel to North Korea is rare and although there have been no reported cases of the Ebola virus in the reclusive country, in the past it has sealed its borders to foreign visitors over health concerns.

“In 2003, the country closed its borders due to the threat of SARS, despite not a single case being reported there,” said Bonner of Koryo Tours.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/23/north-korea-bars-tourists-over-ebola-concerns