Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Twitter that he had signed an order stopping the issuance of visas domestically and in all foreign posts. Locsin did not give a timeframe for the measures.
Homeless Filipinos rest on makeshift beds in a Catholic school’s gymnasium which turned into a shelter for the homeless following the enforcement of a community quarantine in Manila to contain the coronavirus disease on Tuesday. REUTERS
“This goes one imperative step forward: a total ban on incoming foreign visitors of all nationalities no exceptions,” Locsin said, adding that outgoing foreign visitors will be allowed to leave.
The Philippines has recorded 217 coronavirus infections and 17 deaths, mostly of which were reported in the past two weeks. More than half of the country’s 107 million population is under a month-long quarantine.
