President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday widened the scope of a ban on travelers from China to the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, as part of a slew of measures to contain the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus.
In a statement, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said that after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency on Jan. 31, “the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved and recommended the adoption of guidelines for the management of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease (ARD) Situation.”
READ: 2019 novel coronavirus: A timeline
The measures are as follows:
1. temporary ban on the entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and holders of permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine government, directly coming from China and its special administrative regions;
2. temporary ban on 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 Special Administrative Regions;
3. a 14-day quarantine on Filipinos and permanent resident visa holders coming from any place in China and its special administrative regions;
4. temporary travel ban on Filipinos to China and its special administrative regions; and
5. establishment of a repatriation and quarantine facility.
Medialdea said the task force was also given the authority, “if necessary, to ban the entry of travellers from other areas with confirmed widespread 2019-nCOV ARD.”
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said that “[f]or clarity the ban is on the person of any nationality except that of Filipinos particularly specified above, coming directly from the places above-mentioned and arriving in the Philippines, and not of any flight.”
“We assure the the Filipino people that the directives issued by the President as well as the protocols being implemented as well as succeeding ones are all geared for the safety of our countrymen and will last until the danger of the dreaded disease has ceased,” he said.
The president is set to meet task force members and other government officials on Monday, Feb. 4. The Philippines reported its first case on Jan. 30, about a month since the start of the outbreak in Wuhan, China.
As of Feb. 1, confirmed cases have totaled 11,953 worldwide, of which 11,821 were from China. Twenty-three countries have reported 132 cases. The death toll has reached 259.
Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, a key ally of the president, said the Philippines was not singling out Chinese nationals. “This order covers all travelers from China to the Philippines, regardless of nationality,” he said in a statement. (PressONE.ph)