Mormon missionaries in PH headed home for virus quarantine

Missionaries in Cebu, Philippines, gather for a meeting with Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham, during a ministry visit in February 2020. LDS

PROVO, Utah — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all nonnative missionaries serving in the Philippines are returning to their home countries within the next few days.

In a statement on March 17, the Church said, “With a new travel directive from the Philippines government, and due to a general disruption to their ability to carry out their service, all missionaries who are not native to the Philippines are being moved out of that country. These missionaries will return to their home countries for new temporary assignments. They will begin their new assignments after completing a 14-day period of self-isolation at home as a precaution.”

President Mark R. Alder on March 17 sent out an email stating, “The President of the Philippines issued a presidential proclamation raising the level of alert throughout the Philippines and implementing a heightened level of community quarantine.”

It continued, “The presidential proclamation encourages foreigners living in the Philippines to return to their home countries. It provides a 72-hour window for foreigners to travel freely to the international airports in the country and board a departing flight for their home country.”