Filipinos must avoid Daegu, Cheongdu in South Korea for now: DOH

February 25, 2020

The Department of Health (DOH) told Filipinos not to go to Daegu City and Cheongdo County in the north Gyeongsang Province, South Korea due to the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a television interview, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said: "We discourage absolutely any travel to those areas. It is not prudent to do that." 

He said there are local transmissions of COVID-19 in these two areas.

"So far, it's been localized in Daegu and Cheongdo. So, we ask them to postpone travel to those areas," said Duque.

On Monday, the DOH said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATE-EID) is set to discuss if there is a need to impose a travel ban to South Korea, which is the country with most COVID-19 cases outside China.

Duque said the task force may decide Wednesday) regarding the possibility of imposing travel restriction to South Korea.

"We will just meet on this tomorrow at the DOH. The task force will convene. This is one fo the agenda items for our consideration," he related.

The health chief said they will also consider the possible economic, tourism, and transportation impact of possibly imposing the ban.

"But, by and large, the public health and safety will prevail over other considerations," stressed Duque.

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that there are already 763 COVID-19 cases in South Korea, including 7 deaths, thus making it the country with most confirmed cases outside China.

Duque, however, said that there remains no Filipinos among the COVID-19 cases in South Korea. DMS