Duterte agrees to ban entry into PH of travellers from nCoV-hit areas in China — Sen. Go
Credit to Author: Javier J. Ismael| Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 02:45:58 +0000
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Friday bared that President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to implement a temporary travel ban on travellers coming from Wuhan City and the entire Hubei province of China while assessing the need to add to the list with travel restrictions more places affected by the Novel Coronavirus.
“Nais ko pong ipaalam sa publiko na nakausap ko po si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte kanina at inirekomenda ko ang pag-impose ng temporary travel ban upang maprotektahan ang ating mga kababayan sa pagkalat ng Coronavirus. Sang-ayon po si Pangulo na iimplementa ang temporary travel ban sa mga manggagaling mula Wuhan city and the entire Hubei province ng China (I want to inform the public that I have talked to President Rodrigo Duterte and I have recommended the imposition of a temporary travel ban in order to protect our countrymen from the spread of coronavirus. The President has agreed to the implementation of temporary travel ban for those coming from Wuhan City and the entire Hubei Province of China),” said Go, chairman of the Senate health and demography committee.
He added that the President and concerned government officials were also studying the possibility of imposing temporary travel restrictions for those coming from other places affected by the infection.
The senator also shared that a meeting has been scheduled by the President next week with medical experts and key government officials to discuss all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Rest assured that the Duterte administration takes this threat seriously. I am appealing to the public to cooperate with authorities in order to ensure the safety of everyone,” said Go.
“As part of our precautionary efforts, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has earlier stopped the issuance of visas-on-arrival to Chinese nationals. The DFA also eventually temporarily stopped the issuance of visas to travellers from Hubei province, altogether,” he said.
Go then urged authorities concerned to strictly impose precautionary measures to protect Filipinos by implementing quarantine procedures and providing regular advisories to guide the public.
As chairman of the Senate health committee, Go said a hearing on the matter would be held on February 4.
“We will invite representatives from all concerned agencies, especially from DoH, DFA and airport officials. Our priority is to lay down measures to help ensure the safety of Filipinos,” he said.