Davao City bans direct flights from Clark to stop spread of COVID-19

DAVAO CITY—The city government here has banned all flights from Clark International Airport to protect the city against the possibility of the spread of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

Mayor Sara Duterte said passengers from Metro Manila often bypassed the community quarantine imposed in the area by taking Clark flights going to the provinces, including Davao City.

Duterte said the order banning the flights from Clark complied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of the state of public health emergency in the entire country, allowing local executives to adopt measures to protect their people against the spread of the disease.

One of the strict responses of the government to arrest the spread of the disease was the prohibition of all domestic flights to and from Metro Manila.

The mayor warned that by ignoring the government’s flight ban by passing through Clark, passengers escaping Metro Manila may put at risk millions of people in their destinations.

In February, four Chinese tourists from Fujian, China, who were supposed to be on self-quarantine, were able to roam around Davao City for three days before they were intercepted in a resort in Glan town, Sarangani.

A regional health official said they were not able to monitor the tourists because the tourists boarded the direct flight from Clark to Davao City, hence, passing off as domestic tourists.