WHO: No need for travel ban yet in South Korea

There is no need for travel restrictions to South Korea yet despite the increasing number of MERS-CoV cases there with several confirmed deaths, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Alison Clements-Hunt said Wednesday.

“WHO would not advise a travel ban on a country which is experiencing MERS in this way,” Hunts said in an interview on “Balitanghali.” “We do not recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions or any entry screening related to MERS.”

However, she said countries were within their rights to activate screening procedures on travelers coming from countries with reported MERS-CoV cases and to verify their countries of origin.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had earlier said there is no need to impose a travel ban to South Korea yet, despite the increasing number of patients with MERS-CoV or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.

Hunt said while the South Korean government enacted infection prevention protocols known to have stopped the spread of the disease, travelers have a responsibility to protect themselves.

“There is a responsibility on the public to understand what MERS is, the fact that this is about good personal hygiene... and obviously avoiding, if they're traveling to the Middle East, contact with any areas where MERS has been identified,” she said.

Because of South Korea's adequate health system, the WHO focused its efforts into coordinating with health authorities to share their experience in containing MERS-CoV.

“They don't need medical assistance from any other countries or organizations... We're working together with the government to find the best way to respond to the virus,” Hunt said.

South Korea's health ministry announced the deaths of two more citizens and 13 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 108. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
At a forum in Manila on Wednesday, June 10, Health Secretary Janette Garin said two Korean doctors who recently visited the Philippines tested negative for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus. Garin said aggressive surveillance is continuous not just in airports, but also in hospitals. DOH also met with healthcare workers from all over the country to update them on the disease. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more