Coronavirus: Philippines suspends issuing visas to foreigners, official warns cases could hit 75,000 by June

Visa-free privileges of all foreign nationals are also suspended, and previously issued visas to foreigners have been cancelled

Meanwhile, thousands of people are trying to flee the country amid a lockdown on the main island of Luzon

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An armed soldier stands at a checkpoint in Manila. President Duterte has placed the whole of Luzon – the largest island in the Philippines – under “tightened quarantine”. Photo: DPA

Published: 11:38pm, 19 Mar 2020Updated: 4:37am, 20 Mar 2020

The Philippines has suspended issuing visas to all foreigners as it looks to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr, while the health undersecretary has warned that the country could have 75,000 cases by June if intervention measures do not work.

“Starting today, all our embassies and consulates will temporarily suspend visa issuance to all foreign nationals as well as the visa-free entry privileges of all foreign nationals,” Locsin said on Twitter.

“Moreover, all previously issued Philippine visas to foreign nationals are deemed cancelled. Visas already issued to foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals remain valid.”

Authorities have struggled to enforce a lockdown on the country’s main island of Luzon that has rendered millions temporarily jobless, with thousands of people trying to flee the country on Thursday. Luzon is home to nearly 60 million Filipinos – more than half of the country’s population.

Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday said the Department of Health had worked with the World Health Organisation and local epidemiologists to come up with the estimate of 75,000 cases should measures such as the lockdown not work.

“We arrived at this [figure] based on the statistics of local cases we have on hand and all cases across the globe that say … one [infected] person can transmit [the virus] to two persons in just one sitting, then we classified our population according to age group to see who would be more prone to infection,” she said.