Argumentative Essay

1. JOHN CHARLES S. CARREON
Travel Ban: Is There a Need to Do This?
Whennovel coronavirusnowknownasCOVID-19quicklyspread all overthe world, infecting
thousandsandthousandsof citizensof manycountries,manycountriesincludingthe Philippines
imposedatravel ban and significantlyimposedtravel restrictions toandfromChina. Is thisreallythe key
to solve thiscatastrophe?
Travel bans are frequentlyusedtostopthe spreadof an emerginginfectiousdisease.Withthe
situationthatwe have rightnowwithCOVID-19pandemic,travel restrictionisone of the manyways
that we can do to delayif notpreventthe quickspreadof the virus.AccordingtoAtty.SalvadorPanelo,
travel banis one of the legal optionsthatagovernmentcanhave whenthe followingisatrisk: (1)
National security(2) PublicHealth(3) PublicSafety.Whenone of these iscompromised,Presidentof the
Philippines hasthe authoritytoimpose travel restrictions.Manygovernmentofficialshave theirshare of
reasonsas to whya strict implementationof thisbanisneeded.VPRobredosuggestedthe banningof
people comingfromthe whole Chinasince Filipinos’healthisatrisk.SenatorVillanuevaalsoshare that
it isnot onlyChina,butalsoothercountrieswithhighnumber of casesof COVID-19must alsobe
bannedfromcomingintothe Philippines.
Travel bancan be consideredasa drasticmeasure towardsthe containmentof the virus.But,we
cannot dobetterto containthe viruswiththe thoughthat if we can preventitfromgettingsignificantly
withinthe population,thenwe will be able toavoidworstconsequencestohappen.Besides,because
thisdisease isnewtous- no treatment,novaccine,andstill we donotknow much aboutit, the least
that we can do is to protect our bordersand have a strongerdisease surveillance mechanism.