Chinese Tourists Visit Boracay Island Despite Ban
BORACAY – Liaison officer to Boracay Peter Tay wonder how and why Chinese tourists still visit the island despite travel ban.
The 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) was first recorded in Wuhan City, China, a city of 11 million people. The city is under lockdown to halt the spread of the virus.
Several countries are on tight guard amid coronavirus crisis. The Chinese government recently agreed to allow the United States health experts to enter the country to help them fight nCoV.
In a previous article, Liason officer in Boracay of the Chinese Embassy, Peter Tay, said Chinese businessmen in Boracay Island closed their restaurants and went back to mainland China. He said they feel they are avoided by the tourists.
The Chinese nationals who worked and lived in Boracay also feel haunted by the coronavirus outbreak. “They felt like they are no longer welcomed here in the island,” he said.
Based on a report from Inquirer, Peter Tay said 78 visitors from China arrived in Boracay island on Tuesday, February 4. The authorities in Malay in Aklan province wondered why Chinese tourists are still arriving on the resort island even after President Rodrigo Roa Duterte ordered banning of visitors from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to prevent the spread of nCoV.
The authorities are currently monitoring 429 Chinese nationals who are not experiencing the symptoms but have been to China within 14 days before they entered the country.
“I’m wondering how and why they were able to get into the island. They should not be allowed after the President issued the executive order,” he said.
According to the report, Malay Councilor Nenette Aguirre-Graf passed a resolution asking the acting Mayor Floribar Bautista to apply a temporary ban on travelers from China. “Where are they coming from? We want them stopped at Caticlan (jetty post),” she said.
Chinese nationals who are already living in the Philippines are not included in her proposed ban.
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