MANILA – Travelers from six more countries were banned from entering the Philippines in light of the new coronavirus variant, said Palace spokesperson Harry Roque.
Individuals coming from or who have been to Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan, and Brazil within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines will be refused entry to the Philippines starting 12:01 a.m. of Jan. 8 until Jan. 15.
According to Roque, foreigners arriving before Jan. 8 will be required to undergo a facility-based 14-day quarantine, even if they have a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test result.
Filipino citizens, on the other hand, will be allowed to enter the Philippines as long as they undergo screening for COVID-19 and facility-based quarantine.
All unaccompanied minor Filipino citizens coming from countries/jurisdictions where travel restrictions are imposed will not be allowed entry from Jan. 8 to Jan. 15, except for minors returning through the repatriation program of the national government.
The repatriated minors shall be turned over to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration house parent who, in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), shall ensure the minors’ safety and their observance of quarantine protocols.
All unaccompanied minor Filipino citizens who are not part of the repatriation program of the national government, arriving before Jan. 8 will be turned over to an authorized DSWD officer who can ensure the minors’ safety and their observance of quarantine protocols.
Meanwhile, Roque said China was not yet included in the 27 countries that were on the Philippines’ travel ban list as the Palace is still awaiting official confirmation from reputable international agencies of presence of new COVID-19 variant there.
“Antayin po natin ang confirmation at kung mayroon naman pong confirmation ay isasali rin sila sa listahan. As of now wala pa pong confirmation,” Roque said in a virtual press conference on Thursday.
The Department of Health and the Philippine Genome Center said the new coronavirus variant has not yet been detected in the country based on their analysis of samples from hospitals and travelers./PN
