The number of people entering and leaving South Korea halved last month, due to the novel coronavirus.

According to the latest data by the Korea Immigration Service on Friday, three-point-84 million people came to or left the country in February, down 50-point-nine percent from January and 49-point-four percent from the same month last year.

Out of one-point-82 million people who left the country, one-point-05 million were South Koreans. The number was down 58-point-one percent from the previous month and 59-point-nine percent from a year earlier.

Out of two-point-02 million who entered the country, 719-thousand were foreigners, down 45-point-five percent from January and 42-point-two percent from February 2019.

The number of foreigners staying in the country long-term, which surpassed two-point-five million for the first time in December, fell six-point-four percent in February from a month earlier.