Virus quarantine on Philippines island of Luzon

Thousands of foreign travellers need to leave the northern Philippines by Friday or they will be stranded because the entire region has been placed in quarantine as a result of the coronavirus. The government said Tuesday that foreign tourists and travellers had 72 hours to get out, as all flights from the region will be suspended after that time.

The measure is centred on the main island of Luzon, where the capital Manila is located.

The government declared the island an ''enhanced community quarantine' and millions of people have been ordered to stay at home.

Schools are suspended and most office work has been halted, clearing Manila’s main roads of their notorious traffic jams.

Police and soldiers stopped traffic at checkpoints to see if motorists had a fever, a key symptom of the coronavirus, and to check if the quarantine rules allowed them to be out of doors.

The Philippines has reported 187 cases of infections, and 14 people have died.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.