Philippines imposes partial travel ban on South Korea

MANILA, Philippines, February 27 ------ A new travel ban was imposed by the government yesterday, covering visitors from North Gyeongsang province in South Korea where the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak dramatically worsened this week. “The Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) met today (Feb. 26) and it has approved... a ban on the entry of travelers coming from the North Gyeongsang province of South Korea into Philippine territory effective immediately,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo announced at a press briefing.

Latest reports said COVID-19 has killed 12 people and infected at least 1,260 others in South Korea, with a majority of them in North Gyeongsang, particularly in Cheongdo county and Daegu City. The order of Malacañang also bars Filipino tourists from visiting any part of South Korea as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19. Panelo said travelers from other areas of South Korea are allowed to enter the Philippines, but Filipino tourists are prohibited from visiting any part of the East Asian country.

Permanent residents, those leaving for study and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are permitted to travel to South Korea but should sign a declaration stating that they know and understand the risks involved in their trip. “With respect to other parts of South Korea, the IATF shall conduct a risk assessment of the situation within 48 hours to analyze whether it is necessary to expand the travel ban,” Panelo said. Philippine authorities are expected to coordinate with South Korean counterparts to identify the travelers who had come from North Gyeongsang.

Panelo said visitors from other parts of South Korea would be subjected to strict protocols. “The safety and security of Filipinos here and outside the Philippines remain our primary concern. Our countrymen’s welfare is foremost in our minds as concerned officials discuss updates and recommendations on the management of the coronavirus,” he added. At a separate press conference, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said: “Filipinos and their foreign spouses or children and holders of permanent resident and diplomatic visas will be allowed entry subject to existing screening and quarantine protocols.”

Duque explained that these travelers shall be subjected to existing screening and quarantine protocols of the DOH such as isolating in hospital for 14 days those who manifest symptoms upon entering the Philippines. If they are asymptomatic, they will have to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine at home. Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Filipinos can travel to other parts of South Korea “granting that they can get some sort of certification that within the last 14 days before they travel to the Philippines, they did not go to North Gyeongsang.”

South Korea is the biggest source of tourists for the Philippines, with about 1.45 million South Koreans visiting the country in the first nine months of 2019. In 2018, the number of tourists from South Korea reached 1.6 million or 22.8 percent of the total arrivals that year. “(Tourism) will be affected (by the restriction) but as we always say, we have to secure the safety of those coming here and leaving this country to Korea,” Panelo said.

Source: philstar.com