As of February 26, 2020, the Philippines barred travel in both directions between its territory and China, Hong Kong, Macau and parts of South Korea. The restrictions came as COVID-19 cases rose in those places. The directive came from Malacañan on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease.
Arrivals
For China, Hong Kong and Macau, the arrivals ban covered all foreign nationals. There were two exemptions: Filipinos together with their spouses or children, and foreigners holding Philippine permanent resident visas.
In South Korea the arrivals ban applied only to foreigners coming from North Gyeongsang province, Daegu and Cheongdo, with the same two exemptions. Transit passengers could pass through, as long as they did not travel through those three areas.
Departures
The departure ban applied to all Filipinos. For Hong Kong and Macau, it exempted Filipinos who held permanent resident, student or work visas there. The same exceptions applied to Filipinos with those visas in South Korea.
Partial lifting for South Korea
The rules changed within a week. As of March 3, the government had partly lifted the ban on South Korea. “Travelers from the Philippines can once again visit South Korea except North Gyeongsang Province, which has seen a spike in the number of novel coronavirus cases,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo confirmed.
Manila was also weighing a temporary travel ban to and from Japan. That had not been confirmed at the time the list was published.
