MANILA, Philippines
— The Department of Foreign Affairs is ready to repatriate Filipinos in Wuhan City and the rest of Hubei province amid the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.
The DFA said it will prioritize Filipinos in Hubei province in the first batch of repatriates, which
are expected to arrive by next week.
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The repatriation of Filipinos in China will be subject to the country's rules on disease containment, including immigration clearances and quarantine process.
"Filipinos who wish to
be included in the first batch should contact the Philippine Embassy in Beijing or the nearest Consulate General in their area by [February 3, 2020], Monday," the DFA said in an advisory.
Filipinos repatriated from China will undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine period upon arriving in the Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, has issued a travel ban to Chinese nationals from Hubei and other parts of the country where the disease has spread.
"It will last until the threat is over given that that the safety of our countrymen is foremost in the President’s mind," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement Friday.
Last week, China shut down public transport and closed a major airport in eight cities around Wuhan City in Hubei, where the virus originated.
The SARS-like virus first emerged in Wuhan, where a seafood market
was identified as the center of the outbreak.
The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern over the deadly virus as
more than 7,700 people have
been infected, 170 of which have died.
"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. — with reports from AFP