Cebu imposes 14-day mandatory quarantine for passengers from Italy and Iran

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Starting March 11, 2020, travelers arriving in Cebu from Iran and Italy will already be included in the 14-day mandatory quarantine imposed by the provincial government amid the threat of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (Covid-19).

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in a press conference on Monday, March 9, 2020, said she decided to include the two countries in the coverage of the quarantine measures because of the high mortality rate among the confirmed cases there.

As of 5:23 p.m. (local time), the Johns Hopkins University tracker shows 7,375 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Italy and 6,566 cases in Iran. 

Of the confirmed cases, Italy’s death toll due to COVID-19 has already reached 366 while 194 individuals died of the viral disease in Iran.

Garcia said the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) as well as the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) has agreed to impose the measure during their multisectoral meeting earlier.

Although Garcia is set to issue an executive order officially identifying Italy and Iran as part of the mandatory quarantine, she said the EO shall take effect on March 11 yet, or on Wednesday, in order to give airlines ample time to disseminate the information to their passengers.

With the implementation of the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Garcia said she expects a drop in the number of passengers who will pursue their travel to Cebu.

Garcia reiterated that it is not within her capacity as provincial governor to ban the entry of travelers from countries with high Covid-19 case and that her measures. /bmjo