‘Postpone non-essential travel to COVID-hit areas in Korea’

MANILA, Philippines — With no government decision yet on whether to ban travel to and from South Korea, Filipinos should hold off plans to visit Daegu City and Cheongdo county where an outbreak of COVID-19 has left hundreds ill, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a television interview yesterday.

He said it is best to avoid the two areas where a “localized” transmission of the virus was detected.

“I discourage absolutely any travel to those areas. It’s not prudent,” he said.

Based on a report of the Korean Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the number of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and Cheongdo had reached 893 as of 9 a.m. yesterday, including eight deaths. This was up by 60 cases from last Monday’s data.

The outbreaks had been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu and a hospital in Cheongdo country.

Duque noted the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) convenes today to decide if there is a need to impose travel restriction to Seoul.

He said the IATF will do “impact assessments” on economy, tourism and transportation before making a decision.