Palace: Time to consider halting travel from UK amid new COVID-19 strain
Christian Deiparine (Philstar.com) – December 22, 2020 – 5:42 PM
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may soon halt the entry of travelers from the United Kingdom to the country amid a new strain of the coronavirus reported by British authorities that is causing more infections in their country.
Several countries have already imposed a travel ban from the UK as officials there say the new strain is “out of control.”
Despite this, the World Health Organization has said that it is normal for viruses to mutate, but its transmission should be suppressed as soon as possible.
“The UK has reported that this new variant transmits more easily but there is no evidence so far that it is more likely to cause severe disease or mortality,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.
The COVID-19 has infected 77.4 million individuals as of December 22 with over 1.7 million dead, per figures by the John Hopkins University and Medicine.
At home, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said that the coronavirus task force would study the possibility of a temporary travel ban from the UK.
In another briefing on Tuesday, he said it may now be time to alert the transportation department for the said move.
“Pero tama po kayo, panahon na para ikonsidera ‘yang temporary travel ban sa UK bagamat pakinggan din ang sinabi ng WHO na hindi naman dapat ikabahala ‘yan dahil ganyan talaga ‘yung progression ng viruses,” Roque said.
(Perhaps you are right, we should now consider the temporary travel ban from UK, although from what we heard from the WHO there is not much to worry as such is a normal progression of viruses.)
The UK government has ordered a new lockdown across its country due to the said strain amid the holiday season.
Philippine health officials have also said that they are monitoring if it has reached the country, but added that restricting travel “would not be required at this point.”
The Duterte administration early this 2020 thumbed down calls to ban entry of tourists from China, where the novel coronavirus had originated in its city of Wuhan late last year.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had told lawmakers that the country should be “careful of possible repercussions” of seemingly singling out China, a nation which the president has pivoted the Philippines to.
A travel ban was eventually ordered by January 31, only a day after authorities had already confirmed its first case of a Chinese tourist who flew to several destinations in the country.
Infections have grown significantly since then, with cases now at 462,815 by December 22, and the death toll surpassing the 9,000th mark.
To date, the Philippines’ count of COVID-19 patients is the second highest in Southeast Asia, next only to Indonesia’s over 671,000. — with a report from Xave Gregorio
SOURCE: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/12/22/2065635/palace-time-consider-halting-travel-uk-amid-new-covid-19-strain
