No to travel ban on ASEAN members

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he will not support a travel ban to and from Singapore and other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amid the 58 cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

“I will not support a travel ban to & from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Singapore.

“A ban should hinge not on the incidence & number of infections/fatalities but on the demonstrated capability of the state concerned to contain the disease & strictly regulate ingress and egress from its air/sea ports,” Locsin tweeted on Thursday.

Singapore has raised its alert level to orange.

This means that the disease is severe and spreads easily from one person to another. There are a total of 58 confirmed Covid-19 patients in ASEAN countries, 711 of whom tested negative, 15 discharged, and 82 are still awaiting test results.

As of Thursday, the Singaporean government clarified that no countries have banned travel to the country.

Earlier, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he will present an assessment to the inter-agency task force about a possible travel restriction on Singapore.

The lifting of the travel ban to and from Taiwan and Hong Kong will also be tackled.

Manila has imposed a travel ban on all foreign nationals from mainland China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau and recently Taiwan.