Metro Manila (CNN Philipines, March 17) — Imposing new travel restrictions is seen as the best way to prevent the entry of new variants in the country, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.
Galvez, who also serves as the National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer, referred to their recent memorandum which bans foreign travelers and non-overseas Filipino workers from entering the country from March 20 to April 19.
The Civil Aeronautics Board also imposed a cap of 1,500 inbound passengers from international flights daily starting March 18 due to rising COVID-19 cases.
“Ang nakikita talaga nating nagiging cause ng new variants is the inbound travel. Hindi naman tayo magkakaroon ng South African and UK variant [dahil] manggagaling talaga ito sa abroad,” Galvez said in a briefing.
[Translation: We really see inbound travel as the cause of the new variants. We will not have the South African and the UK variants unless they came from abroad.]
“Ito po yung ating major intervention to prevent the probability na more or less 3,000 ang maging carriers of the variants,” said Galvez, referring to the estimated current inbound international travel capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“Ang tinitingnan natin is drastic, the most logical, and most moral way to prevent further the incursions of new variants in the country.”
[Translation: We are looking at a drastic, the most logical and the most moral way to prevent further incursions of new variants in the country.]
Galvez noted that while he understands the impact of the latest order on the tourism and transportation sector, the government needs to do a “balancing act” as hospitals and other facilities are also getting overwhelmed with the number of COVID-19 cases.
He also echoed some criticisms of substandard services in some hotel accommodations due to the influx of returning OFWs.
“Nahihirapan po kami na ‘yung mga hotel accommodations, hindi na nabibigyan na magandang accommodation ang OFWs,” Galvez sid.
[Translation: We are also having difficulties with hotel accommodations, because some OFWs are not being provided good accommodations.]
Galvez estimates over 1,200 OFWs and over 2,300 non-OFWs and other visiting foreigners arrive in the country daily.
READ: PH temporarily halts entry of foreigners and non-OFW returnees
The Philippines currently has 98 confirmed cases of the P.3 variant that was first detected in the country, 177 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant identified in the UK, 90 cases of the B.1.351 variant that first emerged in South Africa, and its first P.1 variant case which previously emerged in Brazil.
READ: FAST FACTS: New coronavirus variants detected in PH
