The Philippines has lifted the travel ban to mainland China except for Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the lifting of the ban was adopted in a March 12, 2020 resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Diseases (IATF).
Not all are covered by the lifting of the travel ban, however, the DFA said. Those covered are:
· Returning OFWs who are able to present valid visas and/or work permits, overseas employment certificate, notarized and other relevant documents pertaining to their current employment in mainland China as may be required by immigration authorities;
· Filipinos with permanent resident visas; and
· Filipino government officials traveling to mainland China on official duty
The DFA said the following are excluded from the lifting of travel ban:
· OFWs on the first-time deployment to mainland China
· Students
· Dependents of OFWs
· Tourists
The coronavirus disease outbreak in China had prompted the Philippine government on February 2 to impose a travel ban on mainland China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau.
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