Gov’t mulls including Taiwan in travel ban due to nCoV threat

The Philippine government is mulling to expand its temporary travel ban due to the novel coronavirus outbreak on all travelers coming from Taiwan.

On Monday, Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippines would discuss the inclusion of Taiwan in the list.

Taiwan recorded its 18th case of the viral infection on Sunday.

“It’s not yet agreed or final. it will still be subjected to a discussion and agreement among the member agencies of the inter-agency task force,” Bayugo said at a news conference in Malacañang.

At present, foreigners would not be allowed to enter the Philippines if they had traveled to mainland China and its special administrative regions Macau and Hong Kong within the past 14 days.

Filipino nationals and Philippine permanent resident visa holders would be allowed to enter the country but would be required to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

The Bureau of Immigration had also temporarily stopped issuing tourist visas on arrival to Chinese nationals in a bid to curb their arrival and minimize the chance of virus transmission.

The virus that originated in China’s Wuhan City has already killed more than 900 people and infected 40,000 worldwide.

The only confirmed fatalities outside the mainland are a Chinese man in the Philippines and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong. — RSJ, GMA News