Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin announced today that Philippines will no longer issue visas to foreigners, barring all foreign nationals from entering the country to halt the spread of COVID-19.
Locsin signed an order stopping the issuance of visas domestically and in all foreign posts, he tweeted, without giving a timeframe for the measures.
“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, most of which were reported in the past two weeks, Reuters said. More than half of the country’s population of 107 million is under a month-long quarantine.
