Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Jaime FlorCruz has assured that the situation of Filipinos in China remain in good condition despite the spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.
In a DZBB report, the envoy was quoted as saying that while some Filipinos caught the virus, none of them were in severe or critical condition.
FlorCruz shared during a media forum on Saturday, Jan. 7, that many Filipinos, including those in Shanghai, who earlier got infected with Covid-19 have already went back to their jobs.
China is experiencing an increase in Covid-19 cases after it loosened its government-imposed restrictions in December, the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
But unlike the Philippines, the Asian economic powerhouse did not mass vaccinate its citizens and is now being challenged by new variants of the Covid-19 virus.
READ: Why China’s Covid wave is stirring fear
FlorCruz, however, left to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases the decision to impose stricter measures against the entrance of travelers coming from China.
He maintained that “science” should always be considered in such a decision to prevent discrimination.
Earlier, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said there was no need yet to impose more restrictions on travelers coming from China.
The Philippines’ current protocols for foreign travelers who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is to require them to present a negative pre-departure antigen or RT-PCR test result before travel or upon arrival in the country.
Those unable to present a negative test result would be tested upon arrival in the airport.