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| Departing passengers wearing face masks wait outside Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Wednesday. EPA |
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| Police check the documents of people attempting to cross a checkpoint on the border of the City of San Pedro and the City of Muntinlupa in metro Manila on Tuesday. EPA |
By Jung Min-ho
The Philippine government has lifted a 72-hour deadline for foreigners to leave the country's main northern island ― a measure that troubled 50,000 Korean residents there.
Previously, the government asked foreign residents and travelers to leave Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, within 72 hours from Tuesday (local time) before suspending flights over coronavirus fears.
"We don't want to give them pressure because it'll be more difficult for them, so we opened up," Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles reportedly said.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared an "enhanced community quarantine" on Luzon that requires millions of people to stay in their homes and restricts land, air and sea travel to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision is a big relief for many Korean residents who worried about being stranded. An official at the association of Koreans living in the country told Yonhap, a Korean news agency, that about 10,000 members wanted to return to their home country but they would not be able to do so before the deadline due to a lack of flights.
However, Luzon residents face many issues, including the suspension of public mass transport.
The virus has infected 193 people and killed 14 in the Philippines as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Department of Health.
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