Manila, January 7 Philippines presidential spokesman Harry Locke announced at a press conference at the presidential palace that in order to prevent the variants of the novel coronavirus from entering the Philippines, Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan and Brazil will be added from 00:00 a.m. on January 8.
Wait for 6 countries to be included in the travel ban list. The country has issued a travel ban to 27 countries and regions where COVID-19 variants have been found.
Since President Duterte approved the issuance of a travel ban to the United Kingdom on December 23, the Philippines has expanded its list three times and extended the travel ban to January 15.
Also included in the ban list are Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, Spain and the United States.
The ban stipulates that all foreign tourists from countries or regions where the novel coronavirus variants occur, or foreign citizens who have traveled in these countries and regions within 14 days before arrival in the Philippines, are not allowed to enter the Philippines until 00:00 on January 15.
Foreign diplomats and staff of international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations were exempted, but they were required to undergo RT-PCR testing and 14 days of medical isolation observation upon arrival at Philippines airport.
Foreign dignitaries are also exempted, but they also need to comply with testing and quarantine regulations.
Filipinos who have been to a travel ban country or who have been to travel within 14 days prior to entry are still allowed to enter the country, but must observe 14 days of absolute isolation medical observation even if the RT-PCR test results are negative.
On the 7th, Locke introduced two special policies: first, unaccompanied minor Filipino citizens who are not included in the government repatriation plan are not allowed to enter the country until January 15; those who are included in the government repatriation plan and arrive before January 8 will be handed over to officials of the Philippines Department of Social Welfare and Development to ensure their safety and compliance.
Abid with the quarantine agreement; Second, patients who need to enter the Philippines due to medical emergencies, including their medical escorts, are not subject to the above-mentioned travel ban, but need to be assessed by the Ministry of Health.
According to the provisions of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippines (IATF), travelers who have been vaccinated in other countries are still subject to the country’s mandatory testing and isolation agreements.
Regarding the procurement of vaccine in the Philippines, the IATF recently said that it is negotiating with a number of pharmaceutical companies on a coronavirus vaccine, which is expected to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year.
On the 7th, Congressman Alan Peter Cayetano, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, proposed to issue “vaccine passports” to vaccinators, which will help restore public confidence and economic revitalization, and restore the Filipino people to connect with the country and the world.
According to the data of the Ministry of Health of the Philippines on January 7, 1,353 cases were confirmed in the Philippines on that day, with a total of 482,083 cases; 9 deaths, a total of 9,356 cases; and 360 cases of rehabilitation, a total of 449,052.
The Philippines has not reported the discovery of COVID-19 variants.
