DOH to recommend temporary travel restrictions from Hubei, China

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said it will “strongly” recommend a travel restriction from Hubei province in China after the Philippines recorded its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.

“By now, I will strongly recommend to the task force of emerging infectious disease, a temporary restriction of travelers from the entire Hubei province in China,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a press briefing on Thursday.

Duque was referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which is composed of government agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment.

Earlier, the DOH said a 38-year-old Chinese female student in Manila tested positive for the new virus, which was first discovered in Wuhan, China.

But Duque said they may impose travel restrictions in other places depending on the assessment of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We will be waiting for assessment of WHO and recommendation whether to add the list some more places with a relatively higher burden of nCoV infection,” the Health chief said.

In China, 170 people have died and 7,000 were infected due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Edited by MUF

An aerial view shows residential and commercial buildings of Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on January 27, 2020, amid a deadly virus outbreak in the city. (AFP)