Staff members disinfect a market in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2020. As of 4:00 p.m. local time, the number of infected patients in South Korea totaled 602, up 169 from the previous day. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has updated the figure twice a day at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time. The death toll rose from two to five. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)

 
Two-thirds of recent travelers from South Korea are Chinese residents, China's immigration authority said Sunday, dismissing reports that South Koreans were fleeing in droves to Chinese cities to avoid the epidemic in their home country. 

Since the South Korean government upgraded its coronavirus alert to the highest level on February 23, China had received about 1,300 travelers of South Korean nationals daily, Liu Haitao, an official from China's National Immigration Administration told the press on Sunday. 

Speculation arose online that South Koreans might be flying to Chinese cities, including the East China city of Qingdao, to avoid the rising epidemic in their own country.

"Data showed that the number of people from South Korea increased a bit, but hasn't shown a huge fluctuation," Liu said. 

"The recent passengers from South Korea were mainly Chinese residents, accounting for 70 percent of the total. We haven't seen a large quantity of South Koreans swarm into China."

As to high price of flights from South Korea, the official said, the reduced number of flights between the two countries caused the shortage in air tickets. 

An air ticket from Seoul to Qingdao soared to 4,000 yuan ($568.9) from about 700 yuan, the Global Times found on Sunday.  

The total flights between China and South Korea were reduced to 320 over the past week, officials from China's Civil Aviation Administration said Sunday, noting the flights may be reduced to 276 in the coming week.