MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has included foreign travelers to and from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau from the coverage of the temporary travel ban still due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV).
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the wider travel ban was after Duterte accepted the recommendation of the Department of Health and the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
According to Medialdea, the temporary ban now covers the following:
* The entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and foreigners holding permanent resident visas issued by the Philippine government, directly coming from China and its special administrative regions (SARs) Hong Kong and Macau
* The entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and holders of permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine government, who within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, has been to China and its SARs
* Temporary ban on Filipinos from travelling to China and its SARs
The infectious diseases task force meanwhile recommended the establishment of repatriation, quarantine facility and mandatory 14-day quarantine for Filipinos and permanent resident visa holders coming from any place in China and its SARs.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who earlier announced the expansion of travel ban in a radio interview, said that the government is not “singling out” Chinese nationals amid this recommendation.
“Taking into consideration the concerns raised by key government officials and health experts, the President made an informed decision and has agreed to adopt this recommendation and implement it immediately as additional precautionary measure to protect Filipinos and everyone in the Philippines,” said Go.
“I wish to emphasize that we are not singling out Chinese nationals. This order covers all travelers from China to the Philippines, regardless of nationality. We emphatize with China given what they are going through but we are doing this to protect the country and its people,” he added.
As of yesterday morning, a total of 305 people had died from coronavirus in mainland China, according to the country’s National Health Commission. The total number of confirmed cases worldwide has increased to 14,380./PN
