Phl Bans Travelers From 20 Countries With Confirmed Cases Of New COVID-19 Strain

UPDATED: The Philippine government decided to ban travelers from, or transiting through, 19 other countries and territories or who have been to the same places within 14 days before arrival in the Philippines to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus strain, presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

The ban – which will be effective at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 30, until Jan. 15, 2021 – will cover Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands, Hong Kong (China), Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada and Spain.

Earlier, the government temporarily blocked flights and travelers only from the United Kingdom – where the new variant of the virus was detected – from Dec. 24 to 31. This was extended on Saturday, Dec. 26, for two weeks.

Roque said the extension of the temporary suspension of flights and the prohibition of entry on all travelers coming from or transiting through the UK will be until Jan. 15, 2021.

Based on the three-page memorandum released by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the following directives were also approved:

• Effective immediately, passengers who are already in transit and arrive before Dec. 30, 12:01 a.m., from the 19 countries/areas, including those who have been to the same places within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall not be prohibited from entering the country.  However, they shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, notwithstanding a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result.

• Also effective immediately, Filipino citizens coming from the UK and 19 other countries/areas, or who have been to the same countries/areas within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall be allowed to enter the Philippines.  However, they shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR test result;

• The Office of the President, upon the joint recommendation of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, may impose restrictions to travelers coming from other countries that report the presence of the new strain of the virus.

• Outbound travel to countries with reported new variants shall be subject to the exiting protocols of the Philippines and the entry protocols of the respective countries.

• Laboratories at points of entry are directed to submit the specimens of travelers from countries with reported cases of the new variant of the virus to the Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM); and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health.  In addition, the RITM is directed to develop a standard operating procedure/response protocol for reports of new variants and strains of the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19;

• The Bureau of Quarantine and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration are directed to ensure the strict adherence to quarantine and testing protocols for returning Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and provide line list to the local government units to ensure that the 14-day quarantine is completed and monitored.  The DOH COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Team must likewise be provided a copy for their case profile and trend analysis.

• The Department of the Interior and Local Government is directed to ensure that all other inbound international travelers from countries not mentioned strictly finish their 14-day quarantine following the existing quarantine protocols, which allow home quarantine after getting a negative RT-PCR test result at the point of entry.

Exemption of OFWs

The DOH recommended the imposition of travel ban from Dec. 30 to Jan. 15 to keep the new strain at bay.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire  said any country that will detect cases of the new variant should be included in the list of travel ban.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Tuesday it was President Duterte who  decided not to include OFWs in the travel restrictions.

"The President recognized the fact that our OFWs are the modern-day heroes of the country who worked abroad at great expense to provide their families and the nation a better future," he noted.

The 14-day quarantine required is also applicable to the OFWs who have already been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Based on data, 60,000 to 100,000 OFWs from UK, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, and Spain were expected to come home during the holidays.

The memorandum seemed to have been cascaded on Tuesday morning, which left Roque out of the loop since he was initially unaware of the memorandum discussed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases over the past few days.

Roque’s office released the order from Medialdea’s office at past 5 p.m. He refused to confirm the contents of the memorandum coming from the tasked agencies, and asked the media to wait for the “written guidelines” during his afternoon press briefing in Cordillera region. – With Sheila Crisostomo