NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in held a meeting at the National Assembly with the leaders of four major political parties on Friday, in a bid to seek cooperative measures to fight against the deadly COVID-19 outbreak. The officials discussed ways to support quarantine and medical procedures, along with specific ways to support small and medium business owners.
The number of countries and regions that have banned or tightened entry procedures on travelers from South Korea has risen to 56. As of Friday morning, Seoul's Foreign Ministry estimates 27 countries and regions are now blocking entry of South Koreans or any foreigners who had visited or passed through Korea.
North Korea appears to be arranging a special flight to fly foreign nationals out of the country. Russian news agency RIA Novosti said Thursday that North Korea is reviewing servicing a one-off flight from Pyongyang to Vladivostok to transport foreigners who wish to return home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The National Tax Service has launched an inspection into 12 manufacturers of meltblown filter face masks. Officials will look into possible malpractices of price hikes, avoiding supply of MB filters or supplying them only to certain companies.