MANILA, Philippines— President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the government is ready to repatriate Filipinos in Wuhan but emphasized the need to place precautions to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading.
“We are always conscious of our citizens there. If they are going home, we are ready to ferry them back to the Philippines but all precautions must be in place,” Duterte said in an ambush interview.
“I said kung may mga sakit na may tama na, at gusto nang umuwi, nakakaawa naman kung hindi natin tulungan,” he added.
Despite this, the President pointed out the lockdown being implemented in Wuhan where the deadly virus originated.
“It is a lockdown in the sense that no one there from the place can go out and others cannot come in. It is practically a prison where you cannot move around or get out of the place,” Duterte said.
“They are discouraging movement even in the place itself, avoid contacts. That’s to avoid contamination,” he added.
Around 50 Filipinos in Hubei province in China have expressed the desire to return to the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said.
DFA also said it is ready to repatriate Filipinos in Wuhan “subject to China’s rules on Disease Containment, including immigration clearance and quarantine process, among others.”
Filipinos who will arrive in the Philippines will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine as ordered by the Department of Health (DOH), DFA added.
The death toll caused by the novel coronavirus has reached over 130 while nearly 6,000 individuals have been infected.