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Travel ban on countries with new strain urged

SAN Jose Del Monte City Rep. Florida “Rida” P. Robes on Tuesday appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to recommend the imposition of travel ban on countries with the new variant of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).

Robes, chairperson of the House committee on people participation, said the Philippines need not wait for local transmission in the affected nations before it imposes travel restrictions because it may be too late by then to control its entry to the country.

“I also appeal to our IATF to recommend travel ban on countries with cases of the new COVID-19 variant which is known to be more contagious. We need to implement all measures to prevent it from coming into our shores because it will definitely be more difficult to control it when it enters our country,” Robes said.

While she recognizes that travel ban would affect efforts to Jumpstart the country’s economy, Robes said “the health of the people is and should always be of primordial concern.”

“It is better to err on the side of the caution. Let us ensure that we have implemented all necessary measures to protect the lives of our countrymen,” she added.

She also expressed support to President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s decision to recall his earlier approval of the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes in low-risk areas, originally scheduled in January 2021 in view of the new strain of COVID-19.

“I fully support President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to maintain online classes in low risk areas in view of the new strain of COVID-19. While children’s have generally milder cases of COVID-19, the health of our children should be our top priority. We cannot risk their health especially at this time when a new variant of the virus is threatening us,” she stated.