MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tourists may now travel to South Korea, except in areas heavily affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved travel to South Korea except in North Gyeongsang Province, including Daegu City and Cheongdo County which have been hit by COVID-19.
Filipinos who will continue with their travel to South Korea must sign a declaration signifying their knowledge of the risks involved, Panelo said.
“The IATF has approved to allow Filipinos to travel to South Korea except to the whole of North Gyeongsang Province, including Daegu City and Cheongdo County, where the virus outbreak is concentrated,” Panelo said in a statement.
“All Filipinos who intend to visit other parts of South Korea shall execute and sign a declaration, signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved in their trip. A health advisory pamphlet shall likewise be handed out to them upon their departure,” he added.
The Philippine government earlier barred Filipino tourists from going to South Korea with the exemption of permanent residents, students, and overseas workers.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the IATF has resolved to partially lift travel restrictions to South Korea as their government has already implemented measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“The IATF has resolved to partially lift travel restrictions to South Korea as their government has implemented stringent infection control measures to contain the spread of COVID-19,” Duque said in a statement.
“South Korea has also reported a low case fatality rate of only 0.5%, and the successful containment of local transmission to only certain areas,” he added.
The IATF, led by the DOH, also agreed to expand travel exemptions allowing dependents of permanent residents of South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau to travel to these areas as long as they also sign a declaration acknowledging the risks involved in the travel.
“The IATF-EID is closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 cases in other countries and is regularly updating its travel restrictions based on standardized risk assessment indicators. We are working nonstop to ensure that our kababayans (countrymen) are protected from COVID-19 no matter where they are,” Duque said.
South Korea now has the most cases of COVID-19 after China with the number already nearing 5,000.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has placed all government agencies on a 24-hour emergency system and allocated 30 trillion won (US$25 billion) to address the situation brought by the outbreak.
On a global scale, COVID-19 has infected more than 89,000 persons and caused the deaths of over 3,000 people.