No travel ban will be enforced by the Philippines to other countries with the new COVID-19 strain found in the UK unless there’s community transmission there, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año announced.
On Dec. 24, Manila already suspended flights coming from the UK, where a new coronavirus strain has been detected. It was supposed to end on Dec. 31, but the government extended the ban for another 2 weeks.
“Bago mo i-consider ang isang bansa na iba-ban natin, kapag talagang meron na dung tinatawag nating community transmission. Kapag sila mismo ‘di ma-control ang community transmission,” Año said in an interview.
The new coronavirus strain has reached countries like Japan, France, Ireland, and Singapore. It has been around a year since the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the COVID-19 is believed to have first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
There is no final word yet on whether the Philippine government will enforce another strict lockdown due to the newly-found virus strain.
“Di pa naman masasabi na magla-lockdown tayo kasi ako naman ay ‘di rin ako sang-ayon na mag-lockdown tayo. Kailangan dito, bantayan natin ang border at ipatupad natin ang health protocols,” he said.
