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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 29) – The country’s coronavirus task force recommended banning travelers from countries and territories that reported cases of the new COVID-19 variant, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday. President Rodrigo Duterte has already approved this proposal “in principle”, according to the Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque III.
“The only travel ban today is in the UK. There will be [one] in the future for countries with a mayroong variant? It has been highly recommended. A decision will be made, ”Roque, who is also the spokesperson for, said in a briefing.
[Translation: Currently, the Philippines is only imposing a travel ban on UK. Will there be [one] in the future for countries with the variant? It has been highly recommended. A decision will be made soon].Roque added that an executive order regarding the proposed travel restrictions is being drafted by the Office of the President, and may be published on Tuesday or “in the next few days.”
Roque was reacting to Duque’s declaration that a travel ban will be imposed on countries or territories where the new variant has been detected from December 30 to January 15. Duque added that Filipino workers returning abroad are exempt from the ban, but will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for two weeks.
“Except for the OFW. “That is what the president wants the OFW, our compatriots to let them in but they will have to go through a strict 14-day quarantine,” the health chief said in an ambush interview Tuesday morning.
[Translation: Except for OFWs. That is what the President wants — to let our OFWs, our fellow countrymen, to enter the country, but they will have to undergo a strict 14-day quarantine.]Previously, Duque said that the ban on inbound visitors should only be imposed once the new variant has caused widespread transmission of COVID-19 in a country. This did not sit well with Duque’s critics, who noted that his reluctance to recommend the implementation of travel restrictions on travelers from China in January led to an increase in cases of the deadly disease. The country’s first known patient to show symptoms of COVID-19 was a tourist from the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Then, Roque called on his colleagues to avoid making announcements related to COVID-19 to avoid sowing confusion among the public.
“My office is the only one authorized to issue any information related to COVID,” emphasized Roque.
“I beg you [I am making an appeal], and I reiterate that there is an executive order in this regard. Let’s honor it. Let’s be a team. “
In a separate briefing, Duque clarified his aforementioned statement on the travel ban.
“I was expecting the guidelines to be released this morning, but Hindi pa pala na-re-release (but they were not released). We have to wait for the guidelines. Hindi ko pa pwede ngayon sabihin na (can’t say) this will be implemented tomorrow” , said.
“But in principle, pumayag na si president (The president approved the recommendation),” he added.
The new variant called VUI 202012/01 was first spotted in the UK earlier this month, leading the Philippines to suspend flights from the UK until the second week of January. It is said to be more transmissible than other known variants.
Other countries that have confirmed cases of the new COVID-19 variant include Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and France. The Health Department said in a briefing on Tuesday that at least 18 countries will be part of the travel ban once the president approves the recommendation on the travel ban, but the list may be updated based on future developments.
On December 19, the UK imposed a lockdown on London, southeast England, and also tightened restrictions for all of England during the holiday period, according to CNN.
Since movement restrictions were enforced in the UK, several other countries in Europe, Asia, South America, the Caribbean and the Middle East have restricted travel from the UK and in some cases have also traveled from others countries that have documented cases with the variant, CNN International has reported.
CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario contributed to this report
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