The Department of Tourism (DOT) has assured the public that traveling is safe in the Philippines amid reports of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) reaching other countries.
According to a report from the Philippine News Agency, the DOT said that the Philippines remains a safe destination for foreign tourists.
Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said during a press conference, “The safety of our tourists is number one, as well as the safety of those in the tourism industry.”
She added, “We will never make our tourists come if we don’t think it’s safe. Imagine, we tell you to come and there’s one incident that destroys the [country’s] image. We are very careful, we stress safety.”
Secretary Romulo-Puyat said that there should not be any worry when traveling to key destinations in the Philippines, as she said that Cebu is very safe, as well as in Boracay where the virus is contained.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) said that the Philippines has no case of the viral illness, but said that the deadly nCoV could still spread to the country, PhilStar reported.
Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said, “So far, we don’t have any confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV.”
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