Push Admin

DOH heightens monitoring of travelers from China amid COVID-19 surge

Article (news)

Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Foreign nationals arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on Feb. 10, 2022, the first day the country reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/12/30/20220210-covid-tourism-vaxxed-arrivals-jc-11.jpg"/><figcaption>Foreign nationals arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on Feb. 10, 2022, the first day the country reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The Department of Health is stepping up efforts to monitor travelers from China, which is grappling with a surge in COVID-19 infections.</p><p>In a statement Friday, the health agency ordered quarantine authorities to bolster safety protocols.</p><p>&quot;To strengthen its existing measures, the DOH directed the Bureau of Quarantine to intensify quarantine protocols such as heightened surveillance on all respiratory symptoms in all travellers and conveyances coming from China,&quot; the DOH said.</p><p>The BOQ must conduct a thorough review of Maritime Declaration of Health and health part of the Aircraft General Declaration, it added.</p><p>The health agency also ordered the BOQ to report symptomatic and COVID-positive travelers during arrival.</p><p>&quot;The DOH will continue to monitor global situation and will announce further developments in the coming days,&quot; it said.</p><p>The country&#x27;s pandemic task force will discuss possible COVID-19 rules for people arriving from China.</p><p>&quot;The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases will discuss on the guidelines on how to deal with the COVID-19 resurgence in China, including our border control for Chinese travelers to the country, for recommendation and approval of the President,&quot; the DOH said.</p><p>To date, unvaccinated foreign travelers are required to present a negative pre-departure antigen or RT-PCR test results before travel or upon arrival.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/29/22/doh-not-yet-time-for-strict-rules-on-chinese-travelers">DOH: Not yet time to impose strict rules on Chinese arrivals</a></li></ul><p>In a press briefing Thursday, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said there&#x27;s no need yet to impose restrictions on travelers from China.</p><p>&quot;Sa ngayon, base sa pananaw ng DOH, kasama ng aming mga eksperto, hindi pa ho tayo napapanahon o wala tayong nakikitang pangangailangan para magsara tayo ng borders to this specific country o &#x27;di kaya ay magkaroon ng mas maigting na restrictions para sa bansang ito,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/12/30/22/covid-cases-sa-china-di-dapat-ikatakot-pero-manatiling-mapagmatyag">&#x27;Pagsipa ng COVID cases sa China di dapat ikatakot pero manatiling mapagmatyag&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>Restrictions some countries have introduced in response to China&#x27;s COVID-19 surge are &quot;understandable&quot;, given the lack of information from Beijing, according to the World Health Organization.</p><p>China&#x27;s National Health Commission said last week it would no longer release an official daily COVID death toll.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/30/22/s-korea-imposes-restrictions-on-travelers-from-china-over-covid-surge">South Korea imposes restrictions on travelers from China over COVID surge</a></li></ul><p>Health risk analysis firm Airfinity said it currently estimates 9,000 daily deaths and 1.8 million infections per day in China, while it also expects 1.7 million fatalities across the country by the end of April 2023.</p><p>The Britain-based researchers said its model was based on data from China&#x27;s regional provinces, before changes to reporting infections were implemented, combined with case growth rates from other former zero-COVID countries when they lifted restrictions. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/30/22/concern-over-china-covid-surge-understandable-who">Concern over China COVID surge &#x27;understandable&#x27;: WHO</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/30/22/china-insists-official-covid-data-is-transparent">China insists official COVID data is transparent: state media</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-e9yiyehCVA?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><em><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></em></div>

The DOH is stepping up efforts to monitor travelers from China, which is grappling with a surge of COVID-19 cases.

DOH heightens monitoring of travelers from China amid COVID-19 surge

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

DOH heightens monitoring of travelers from China amid COVID-19 surge

Davinci Maru,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 30, 2022 04:16 PM PHT

Read More:

health

Department of Health

DOH

COVID-19

COVID19

coronavirus

China

Beijing

ANC

health protocol

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.