The Philippine envoy to Beijing on Saturday allayed fears and anxieties over the welfare of Filipinos in China which has been experiencing a spike in COVID-19 infections.
In a news forum in Quezon City, Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz gave assurance that situation of Filipinos in China remained stable.
FlorCruz said he has not received reports of Filipinos getting severe coronavirus infections.
“Many of them have returned to their offices. The Filipinos in Shanghai, I heard, are in good condition, although many caught the virus, but have since recovered.)
On imposing stricter border curbs, the ambassador underscored the importance of mitigating the risk without being discriminatory.
The Department of Health (DOH) has voiced the same observation.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said there was no need yet to impose more restrictions on travelers from China.
Nonetheless, the DOH directed its units to maintain “heightened surveillance,” particularly on arrivals from China amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in that country.
China is experiencing a spike in infections after years of harsh COVID restrictions were loosened in December.
Based on current health protocols, foreign travelers not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are required to present a negative pre-departure antigen or RT-PCR test result before departure or upon arrival in the Philippines.
The DOH said those who are unable to present a negative test result are administered the test upon arrival in the country.