Philippines stops health workers going abroad to fight Covid-19 outbreak

The Philippines has stopped doctors, nurses, medics and other healthcare workers from going abroad while it needs their skills to meet the threat of the coronavirus spreading at home, according to a foreign affairs official.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued the order on April 2, though it was only made public on Friday. The aim is “to prioritize human resource allocation for the national health care system,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay tweeted.

The ban will remain in place until the Philippines ends its state of emergency and countries that would hire the medical personnel lift their coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The government in Manila has also suspended negotiations for bilateral labor agreements covering government-to-government deployment of health workers.

As of Friday, the Philippines had recorded 4,195 cases of coronavirus, with 221 deaths, Reuters reported.