MANILA, Philippines — Ireland added 26 countries, including the Philippines, to the list of states subject to mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival due to COVID-19.
The newly-added countries were Albania, Andorra, Aruba, Bahrain, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, San Marino, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Somalia, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
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The Irish government said travelers from these states will have to book accommodation for mandatory hotel quarantine if they intent to arrive in Ireland after 4 a.m. on April 6.
“Decisions in relation to these additional states will be considered in advance of the next government meeting,” Ireland’s Minister for Health and Minister for Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
All travelers arrive in Ireland need to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form and provide evidence that they have a negative result from an RT-PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours hours before arrival into the country or have evidence that they are exempt from this legal requirement.
A year into the pandemic, daily cases in the Philippines are at their peak, prompting authorities to revert Metro Manila and surrounding provinces to enhanced community quarantine, or the strictest form of lockdown. Authorities have blamed the public’s low compliance with health protocols and the circulation of more transmissible variants for the surge in cases.
The Department of Health reported 10,016 COVID-19 infections on March 29, the highest daily tally since the health crisis began. More than 756,000 have gotten sick from the virus, while more than 13,300 have died. Currently, there are 138,948 active cases, which represent 18.4% of the total case count. — Gaea Katreena Cabico