PCG confirms: OFWs covered by travel ban to China, HK and Macau

Passengers in NAIA

The Philippine Consulate General confirmed on Feb.3, 2020 that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are covered by the travel ban to mainland China and its special administrative regions (SARs) Hong Kong and Macau.

“Blanket e,” Consul General Raly Tejada said. “Lahat covered, worker, businessman.”

Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Krizia Sandoval also said on Feb. 3 that “all Filipinos, regardless of visa type, are now prohibited to travel to China and its special administrative regions.”

“Temporarily po, because of the travel ban, hindi po muna puwede,” she said in a press conference in Malacañang.

“All OFWs will not be allowed to depart for HK, China and Macau.”

The travel ban will affect domestic helpers and other workers in Hong Kong, spurring questions on its possible impact on their jobs.  Hong Kong has not barred the entry of travellers from the Philippines, however.

Tejada said they have raised this issue with the Department of Foreign Affairs. “We have put forward the concerns of our workers here to Manila, kasi baka mawalan rin ng trabaho, wala ng mabalikan.”

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the ban after the second case of novel coronavirus infection was reported in the Philippines. The man from Wuhan, China died on Feb.1. It was the first death due to 2019-nCoV outside of mainland China, where 361 have died and over 17,000 are infected.