DOH mulls new travel restrictions on countries with local transmission of COVID-19

Imposing new travel restrictions on countries with reported local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is being considered in a bid to prevent the further spread of the epidemic in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday.

Aside from China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau, the country's Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases is also looking into the bigger global situation.

"For these other countries with local transmission, pinag-aaralan na po lahat 'yan sa ngayon. Mayroon po tayong ginagamit na template or matrix kung saan tinitingnan natin ang iba't ibang factors or criteria for us to determine as much as possible scientifically kung bakit tayo nagrerestrict," Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a press conference in Manila.

Some critics were questioning why the Philippines is imposing travel restrictions to and from China and its special administrative regions and yet allowing regular trips to countries such as Singapore, Japan, and South Korea where there were reported cases of local transmission of the virus.

The burden of infection in a country and the volume of arriving travellers from there are being considered, according to Vergeire.

"Ang gusto ng inter-agency task force every three days or as much as they meet mapag-usapan ang criteria na ito... ang mga bansang kailangang isama at mga bansang kailangang i-lift na 'yung ban," she said.

"Everything is evolving, wala pong permanente rito," she added.

Last week, the Philippines lifted the travel restrictions on Taiwan. Migrant workers and students bound for Hong Kong and Macau have also been exempted from the travel ban. —LDF, GMA News