The government will receive regular briefings from municipal governments amid rising reports of bed bug damage in the country.

According to the interior ministry on Monday, the government's joint countermeasures headquarters requested the nation's 17 major municipal governments to report on suspected and confirmed bed bug cases and their response measures.

The headquarters plans to set up a nationwide status board on Tuesday with an aim to prevent the spread of the insect.

While bed bugs were considered to have become nearly extinct in the country through nationwide extermination campaigns during the 1960s, reports of infestation have been on the rise since last month due largely to increased post-pandemic overseas traveling.

The headquarters, however, is mulling over whether to release information about reported infestations due to concerns over secondary damage.