Duterte orders temporary travel ban on visitors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. (JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to impose a temporary travel ban on visitors from mainland China and its special administrative regions, Senator Bong Go disclosed Sunday morning.

Go said he met with Duterte on Saturday night where among those discussed is the expansion of the temporary travel ban currently imposed on Hubei province to the rest of mainland China as well as its special administrative regions, Macau and Hong Kong.

“Sa ngayon ay mag-i-implement na ng temporary travel ban on travelers coming from any part of China and its special administrative regions on top of the existing temporary travel ban imposed on those coming from Hubei province and other affected areas,” Go in an interview with DZBB.

Go said Duterte took into consideration concerns raised by key government officials and health experts in adopting the recommendation to expand the imposition of the temporary travel ban.

“I wish to emphasize that we are not singling out Chinese nationals dito. It covers all travelers from China to the Philippines regardless of nationality,” Go said.

The order, however, does not cover Filipino citizens, Go clarified.

Duterte’s earlier order only covered Chinese nationals from China’s Hubei province, where Wuhan City —the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak—is located, as well as parts of China where there have been reports of confirmed cases of the virus.

The health department last week confirmed that a 38-year-old Chinese tourist has been found infected with the new coronavirus that started in the city of Wuhan, China.

The Chinese woman came from Wuhan and arrived in the Philippines on January 21. She was admitted to a government hospital on January 25 due to mild cough.