Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Amid backlash from the public, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said her decision to impose a 14-day quarantine for travelers from China is one way to discourage them to visit Cebu.
Garcia, in a press conference on Saturday, February 1, said travelers from regions outside Hubei province in China have the option either to submit for a 14-day quarantine or return to their point of origin.
“The intention of the 14-day quarantine is to discourage anyone who is planning to visit here in Cebu (from China). They will be placed under 14 days of quarantine which is 14 days of isolation. If they will be under quarantine, then that could mean their visa will be up or their days supposedly for spending vacation,” Garcia said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
Garcia reiterated that as governor of Cebu, she has no authority to implement a temporary ban of travelers from mainland China outside Hubei province, and added that the power only lies with the President.
“It is humane. It is circumspect. It is sincere… And the quarantine is all that I can do given the fact that I am only a local official, I am only a governor. I am not the President,” she added.
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Wuhan City, where the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) originated, is located in Hubei province in central China. 2019-nCoV has claimed the lives of 259 lives, and infected 11,374 patients from more than 10 countries as of February 1, 2020. /rcg