Inclusion of Taiwan in travel ban due to nCoV mulled

MANILA, Philippines—The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will discuss the possible inclusion of Taiwan in the travel ban imposed due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, a Department of Health (DOH) official said Monday.

“A resolution will be released from the inter-agency task force for the inclusion of Taiwan in the travel ban, but it’s not yet final. It will still be discussed,” DOH Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier imposed a travel ban on foreign travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to avoid the entry of the new coronavirus strain.

There have been 18 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Taiwan with no fatalities.

According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, there are about 120,000 documented overseas Filipino workers Taiwan. But he noted that this figure may still rise up to 20,000 if the undocumented OFWs are taken into account.

The DOH has reported three confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain in the country. The first two cases were a Chinese couple who traveled to the country from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. The man died on Feb. 1, the first nCoV death outside China.

The third case, meanwhile, was a 60-year-old Chinese woman who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan via Hong Kong on Jan. 20.

The total number of deaths in mainland China is now at 902. The global death toll, meanwhile, is at 904, with one death reported each in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

As of Sunday, the DOH is monitoring 284 patients for suspected nCoV infection.