Philippines lifts deadline for foreigners to leave region

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government lifted a 72-hour deadline for thousands of foreign travelers to leave the country’s main northern region, which has been placed under quarantine due to a growing number of coronavirus infections, officials said Wednesday.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared what he is calling an “enhanced community quarantine” on the main island of Luzon that requires millions of people to stay mostly at home and restricts land, air and sea travel to fight the COVID-19 disease.

The monthlong containment, which took effect Tuesday and applies to a third of the archipelago of more than 100 million people, restricted public movement and caused confusion and stranded many health workers and emergency personnel after mass public transport was suspended.

Philippine officials initially asked foreign travelers, including tourists, to leave Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, within 72 hours to avoid being stranded because all flights from the densely populated region would eventually be suspended.

An inter-agency group dealing with the health crisis, however, announced late Tuesday that the deadline had been lifted and foreigners could leave Luzon anytime during the monthlong quarantine.

“We don’t want to give them pressure because it’ll be more difficult for them, so we opened up,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles told a late-evening televised news conference.

Still, many travelers faced problems, including the suspension of public mass transport in Luzon. Some airlines have cancelled international flights, complicating the problems of outbound travelers.

The Philippines has reported 187 cases of infections, according to the Department of Health, which confirmed Tuesday that one of its officials was among those...