Tourism chief Puyat says health, safety always a priority amid UK travel ban

The health and safety of the Filipino is always a priority, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said amid the ban of flights from the United Kingdom over the new variant of the novel coronavirus.

In a signing ceremony on Monday, Puyat said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases will discuss the restrictions to address the threat of the new variant entering the Philippines.

“I've always said that the health and safety is always the priority,” she added.

Puyat noted that only ‘balikbayans’ or Filipinos abroad who are returning to the country are being allowed to enter the Philippines.

According to her, the Department of Tourism is focusing now on domestic tourism, which has a significant part in the contribution of the entire tourism sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

“Domestic tourism is 10.8% ang contribution niya sa 12.7% contribution ng tourism sa GDP,” she said.

On Saturday, Duterte approved the extension of the travel ban from the UK, including those that transited from the UK, for another two weeks amid the new variant.

The UK travel ban started on December 24, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and was initially set to end on December 31, 2020.

On Monday, the IATF is set to discuss restrictions on travelers from countries that have recorded infections linked to a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday.

The DOH said it would present expert recommendations—including a possible ban on travelers from countries hit by the new variant—to the IATF. —KG, GMA News