Coronavirus cases among migrant Filipinos breach 13,500 — DFA
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday reported 42 new coronavirus infections among overseas Filipinos, bringing its tally to 13,540.
Of the total cases recorded by the DFA, 3,988 are marked as active or undergoing treatment.
Recoveries are at 8,617 after 32 new recoveries were recorded Friday.
Deaths remain unchanged at 935 with no new fatalities reported in the last four days.
Travel ban extended
The government on Friday extended its travel ban on over thirty territories until the end of the month. It also expanded the ban to include the United Arab Emirates and Hungary from January 17 to January 31.
DFA in a separate press release noted: "All overseas Filipinos are reminded of the limited quarantine facilities in place and are thus strongly urged to reconsider travel plans to the Philippines for the duration of the travel restrictions, which is set to end on 31 January 2021, without prejudice to the extension of such period upon approval of the [COVID-19 task force].
"Those entering the Philippines from, or who have been to, the affected countries and jurisdiction in the last 14 days are also reminded that they will be required to undergo and complete a strict mandatory 14-day quarantine at a DOH-approved facility, regardless of negative RT-PCR result," it added.
Travel restrictions were extended and expanded two days after the health department reported that a man who traveled from the UAE is the country’s first case of the new coronavirus variant which emerged in the United Kingdom. The UAE had been reporting cases of the new coronavirus variant in December 2020, but it was not included by Philippine officials in the initial ban on some 20 territories confirmed on December 29.
The health department has logged 496,646 Filipinos who have been sickened with coronavirus, 9,876 of whom have died.
It has been 307 days since parts of the country were first placed under lockdown.
— Bella Perez-Rubio
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