MANILA, Philippines (Updated Jan. 11, 2021, 1:13 p.m.) — The Duterte administration on Wednesday announced fresh travel restrictions to six more countries on top of the 20 nations it first halted entry to amid the threat of the new coronavirus variant.
Per Malacañang's new order Wednesday night, foreign travelers from Portugal, India, Finland, as well as Norway, Jordan and Brazil will no longer be allowed entry to the Philippines beginning January 8 until January 15.
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Those arriving before January 8 would still be welcomed, but will be required to quarantine for two weeks despite a negative RT-PCR test result.
Filipinos who come from the said countries but are returning to Manila, however, would also be allowed entry, provided that they follow the prescribed quarantine period even if they tested negative for the deadly virus.
The said countries join the list of other areas where the Philippines has restricted travel:
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong SAR
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Lebanon
- Singapore
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- United States
Philippine health officials earlier today said the COVID-19 variant has not yet reached the country, after Hong Kong authorities reported a returning resident who tested positive and had come from Manila.
Still, experts have stressed that the public should not let their guard down, as the more infectious variant could lead to another spike in cases and raise anew the possibility of a return to hard lockdowns that have hurt the economy badly.
Palace has said too that unaccompanied Filipino minors coming from countries with travel restrictions would not be given entry until January 15, except minors returning through its repatriation programs.
They will, in turn, be turned over to social welfare officials for ensuring their safety and in following quarantine measures.
Government has said that it would regularly update the list of nations covered in its travel restrictions.
It came nearly a year since it faced criticism for rejecting a travel ban of tourists from China that eventually led to the country's first COVID-19 case, a woman from Wuhan, where the virus originated.
The coronavirus task force has also put up a technical working group led by Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire for monitoring and identifying new variants and providing policy proposals.
Experts from DOH-TAG, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, PGC and EpiMetrics comprise the group.
Health officials have said that they are in talks with their counterparts in Hong Kong following the development. — with reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico