With the rising number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Japan, it may be the next country on the Philippines’ list of banned countries to travel to at the moment.
This is according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III during a radio interview with DZMM on Thursday, February 27. “Depende, kung ito’y pumasok (It depends, if it enters [the criteria]),” he said.
He explained that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases will release its criteria on deciding whether or not a country will be included in the travel ban on Friday, February 28. One of the first criteria will be the situation of the transmission of COVID-19 among locals in the country, and if the country is frequently visited by many tourists.
“Kung pasok [ang Japan sa criteria], posible. Magde-desisyon ang task force (If Japan enters the criteria, it’s possible. The task force will decide),” Duque added.
So far, Japan has at least 186 recorded cases of infected persons and 8 recorded fatalities, four of whom contracted the virus while onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship which quarantined its passengers for 14 days.
(ALSO READ: Palace Announces Travel Ban to South Korea)
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