(File photo)
MANILA – The Philippines is imposing travel restrictions on all flights and foreigners coming from the United States starting January 3 after the new and potentially more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variant has been found in the US.
"The Office of the President, upon the joint recommendation of the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs, included the United States of America (US) as among the countries subject to travel restrictions," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement Friday.
Foreign passengers coming from the US, or who have been to the US within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, will be prohibited from entering the country effective Jan. 3 to Jan. 15.
Malacañang said those arriving before Jan. 3 will be allowed to enter the country, subject to strict entry protocols, including an "absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period", regardless of a negative RT-PCR test result.
Filipino nationals will be allowed entry even beyond Jan. 3, but they must likewise undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
At the same time, Malacañang issued the following rules to Filipino and foreign passengers merely transiting through a country covered by travel restrictions:
A. All passengers, Filipinos or foreigners alike, merely transiting through any of the concerned countries "shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to that country" provided they stayed in the airport the whole time and they were not cleared for entry by the immigration authorities of the said country covered by Manila's travel restrictions;
B. The abovementioned passengers (in A) who arrive in the Philippines are not required to complete a 14-day facility-based quarantine and may be allowed home quarantine after getting a negative RT-PCR test result at the point of entry;
C. Transiting foreign passengers who left the airport or were cleared for entry into the country covered by Manila's travel restrictions shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines; and
D. Transiting Filipino citizens who left the airport or were cleared for entry into the country covered by the travel restrictions shall be allowed to enter the Philippines. However, they shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, even if they obtain a negative RT-PCR test result. (PNA)
