Task force to talk about possible travel ban on S.Korea amid virus spread — Nograles

FILE: Foreign tourists use surgical face masks as precautionary measure against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) while strolling at Intramuros, Manila. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

The government of the Philippines has yet to decide whether or not it will impose a travel ban on South Korea amid a spike in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) there.

Talking with ANC’s Headstart on Tuesday, February 25, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases will be having a “crucial” meeting about the possible travel restrictions going to and from South Korea.

“Do we impose a travel ban on South Korea or not? Or at what level or number of COVID-19 positives are we looking at for us to make a decision,” Nograles said.

“Right now if the number is 833, are we waiting for a thousand? Are we waiting for 900? Or right now do we impose the travel ban?” he added.

South Korea earlier raised its alert over the novel coronavirus to the highest level in an effort to strengthen its response to the rise in coronavirus cases in their country.

Should travel restrictions be imposed, Nograles said the task force will determine in the meeting whether the ban is only for Koreans who are coming into the Philippines or for Filipinos who are going to South Korea.

“Those are the things that we’ll have to take into considerations and the effects of that,” he said.

He added that the ban will surely have a “big dent” on the country’s tourism given that millions of Korean tourists were coming to the Philippines every year.

While the travel ban on South Korea has yet to be decided, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier advised Filipino travelers to delay “non-essential travel” to the country as a precaution.

So far, the Philippine Embassy has not received any information that there are infected Filipinos in South Korea, but it is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Filipino community in the said country to ensure their safety.