Soft Launch Set For Vax Certificates; Travel Ban On 10 Countries To Be Lifted

The Philippines will launch its digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates in select areas tomorrow, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Saturday, Sept. 4.

In a statement, Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved the Sept. 6 soft launch of the National Digital Vaccine Certificate or VaxCertPH.

“Overseas Filipino workers and Filipinos who will be departing from the Philippines for international travel, with place of residence indicating Metro Manila and Baguio City, will be prioritized in the initial phase of the implementation of the VaxCertPH,” Roque said.

“It will later be opened to the general public and for other purposes at a later time,” he said.

The VaxCertPH is a portal and mobile app developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) aimed at unifying all the COVID-19 vaccination cards issued by local government units throughout the country.

The system relies on data submitted by local governments through the Vaccine Information Management System.

The VaxCertPH is compliant with the technical specifications set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for vaccination certificates, according to the DICT.

The WHO proposed the use of digital vaccination certificates, which document a person’s current vaccination status, as a mechanism through which a person’s COVID-19-related health data can be digitally documented, via an electronic certificate, for use in continuity of care or as proof of vaccination for purposes other than health care, the DICT said.

Last month, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Filipinos’ vaccination cards are not accepted in Hong Kong as they are not connected to a single source.

“Poor OFWs going to their jobs in Hong Kong even if (they are) jabbed,” Locsin said in a post on Twitter.

Travel ban lifted

Despite the country’s rising COVID-19 cases, the government will lift the ban on travelers from 10 countries, including India, also starting Sept. 6, Roque announced.

Roque said President Duterte has approved the recommendation of the IATF to remove travel restrictions on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Travelers from these countries, however, shall undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival, Roque said.

The government has banned travelers from these countries to prevent the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

The Philippines began its travel ban on India on April 29 and on Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on May 7. The ban covered UAE and Oman on May 15 and Indonesia on July 16.

Travel restriction was also imposed on visitors from Thailand and Malaysia on July 25.

Meanwhile, Roque said the IATF approved the adoption of “Yellow” and “Red” classifications, in addition to the “Green List” of countries/jurisdictions/territories.

The classification is based on their respective incidence rates and case counts as well as testing data.

The IATF classified Yellow List countries/jurisdictions/ territories as “moderate risk” and Red List as “high risk” for COVID-19. Green List countries are those with low incidence of COVID-19.

As of Saturday, the following countries/jurisdictions/territories were included in the Green List: American Samoa, Anguilla, Australia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gabon, Grenada, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustati-us, Slovakia and Taiwan.

Malacañang has yet to publish the countries, jurisdictions or territories under the Yellow and Red lists.

Roque said travelers coming from or with travel history in Yellow List countries or jurisdictions within the last 14 days prior to their arrival in the Philippines shall undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival, regardless of their vaccination status.

They have to complete the first 10 days in a quarantine facility while the remaining four days must be spent under home quarantine in their respective local government units of destination.

They shall undergo RT-PCR testing on the seventh day, with their day of arrival serving as day 1. Notwithstanding a negative test result, they have to complete their facility quarantine for 10 days, Roque said.

Inbound international travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or who have been to Red List countries/jurisdictions/territories would not be allowed to enter the Philippines, Roque said.

Returning Filipinos via government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation and bayanihan flights, however, are exempted from the travel ban but are also subject to testing and quarantine protocols.