MANILA – The Philippines will expand the list of territories covered by a travel ban to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variant, the Department of Health announced on Wednesday.
“It’s a dynamic list. Once there are countries that report the UK variant, then we will definitely expand the list,” Health secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday approved the extension of the temporary suspension of flights from the UK and the prohibition of entry on all travelers coming from or transiting through the European country until mid-January.
Also, effective 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 30, 2020 until Jan. 15, 2021, all foreign passengers coming from 19 other countries will be banned from entering the Philippines.
These countries are Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, and Spain.
However, those passengers who are already in transit and will arrive before 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 30, 2020 from the said areas listed will not be prohibited from entering the country.
They will be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, despite a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test result.
Outbound travel to countries with reported new variants of COVID-19 will be subject to the existing protocols of the Philippines and entry protocols of the respective countries./PN
