DFA suspends issuance of visas to travelers from Hubei, China

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday night ordered the immediate suspension of the issuance of Philippine visas to travelers from Hubei province in China amid the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Dodo Dulay said the order was issued after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases proposed the measure in a resolution.

Pursuant to the IATF on #2019nCoV resolution, DFA has temporarily suspended the issuance of Philippine visas to travelers from Hubei Province, China, effectively immediately. pic.twitter.com/eD3d2esW5E

— Dodo Dulay (@dododulay) January 28, 2020

The same resolution also sought travel advisories discouraged the “non-essential” travel of Filipinos to China.

Several cities in Hubei, including the outbreak’s epicenter of Wuhan, have been placed under lockdown in a bid to contain the virus.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in China has risen to 106 with over 4,000 infected. —NB, GMA News