The Philippine Bureau of Immigration has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas upon arrival (VUA) for Chinese tourists amid fears of the spread of the new coronavirus, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) The Philippine Bureau of Immigration has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas upon arrival (VUA) for Chinese tourists amid fears of the spread of the new coronavirus, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Tuesday.
The unknown type of viral pneumonia, known as 2019-nCoV, was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December. Despite Chinese efforts to contain the spread of the disease, cases have been confirmed in Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States, among others.
"The Civil Aeronautics board has already suspended direct flights from Wuhan province ... We are now temporarily suspending the issuance of VUA for Chinese nationals to slow down the influx of group tours," Morente said as quoted in a press release.
Morente also said that the suspension of this service did not mean a complete entry ban for Chinese nationals.
"We have not received any directive imposing policy changes on Chinese nationals. But we are taking this proactive measure to slow down travel, and possibly help prevent the entry of the 2019-nCov," the commissioner said.
On Monday, the World Health Organization changed the global risk degree of the deadly coronavirus from "moderate" to "high."
The latest data from China's National Health Commission says that 4,515 infection cases and 106 deaths have been confirmed in China alone.
