THE Philippine government revised the list of “green” countries or those with low risk of Covid-19 after it decided to ease testing and quarantine protocols for arriving passengers. Also, NO need for facility-based quarantine for fully vaccinated foreigners and Filipinos upon arrival in the Philippines so long as they come from “green” countries.
This was announced by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) through Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a statement on Wednesday, October 13.
Starting Thursday, the following will be required of fully-vaccinated foreigners entering the Philippines from “green” countries and do not apply to tourists:
- A negative result in a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test within 72 hours prior to departure from their country of origin.
- Upon arrival in the Philippines, self-monitoring for any symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days.
The green countries as of October 17 are:
Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (mainland), Comoro, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and, Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen.
Fully-vaccinated Filipinos can choose to take the same RT-PCR test as foreigners within 72 hours before departure and show a negative result, or choose to take the RT-PCR test at a quarantine facility upon their arrival in the Philippines and stay at the facility until they receive a negative result.
Facility-based quarantine is still required for the following Filipinos until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on their 5th day of quarantine:
- Unvaccinated
- Partially vaccinated
- Individuals whose vaccination status cannot be independently verified.
- Those vaccinated but failed to comply with the test-before-travel requirements
Foreigners who fall into any of the above categories are required to secure hotel reservations for at least six days.
Unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated children traveling with their fully-vaccinated guardians must observe the quarantine protocols that correspond with their vaccination status. Their guardian will accompany them in the quarantine facility.
COVID-19 vaccinations in the Philippines among minors aged 12 to 17 begin on October 15. Those who fall under that age range and who have underlying medical conditions can be vaccinated in pilot areas in Metro Manila.
The vaccine status of overseas Filipino workers (OFW), non-OFWs, and foreigners vaccinated in the Philippines can be validated by presenting their VaxCertPH digital certificate, Bureau of Quarantine/World Health Organization-issued (WHO) International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV), or the national digital certificate issued by the government of the country where they were vaccinated.
Foreign nationals can validate their vaccine status through their WHO-issued ICV or the national digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted the VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement.
The government lifted inbound travel restrictions on the United Arab Emirates, India, and eight other countries on September 6, allowing thousands of stranded OFWs to return home amid expiring work contracts and overstaying woes.
As of Sunday, October 10, the Philippines has 2,666,562 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 and a total of 39,624 COVID-19-related deaths. There are 23,186,969 fully-vaccinated Filipinos, or 21.04% of the population. The government began vaccinating the entire adult population on October 7.
