MANILA, Philippines — Is the Department of Health (DOH) inclined to temporarily ban mainland Chinese tourists from entering the country while the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has not been contained?
It is a possibility said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, but “not at this very moment.”
Antique Rep. Loren Legarda said she has been asked not only by her local constituents but also by other lawmakers on the possibility of banning mainland Chinese from entering the country.
Duque said it is a possible option that the Health Department is looking at. However, the ban should not be implemented “at this very moment.” he said.
“The reason being, Your Honor, we have to be very careful also about the possible repercussions of doing this in the light of the fact that the confirmed cases of coronavirus are not limited to China but now in fact in several countries,” Duque said.
“If we do this, then the concerned country of China, in this case, might question why we’re not doing the same to other countries that have reported confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus,” he added.
But while Duque admitted that the matter of banning mainland Chinese from entering the country is a “tricky and difficult” issue, he assured that it is being considered by the DOH.
Legarda also shared a conversation she had with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin.
“So I asked Secretary Locsin, and I can show you a text of Secretary Teddy, he said, ‘Loren, I agree with you, you may be right,’” Legarda said.
The 2019-nCov, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus, is a newly discovered strain of coronavirus that originated in Wuhan City, Hubei province in Central China.
The virus has killed more than 130 people and has infected more than 6,000 in mainland China and abroad.