SIX more countries were recommended by the Department of Health (DOH) for inclusion on the list of countries and territories covered by a travel ban after the detection of a new, more transmissible variant of Covid-19.
“Apart from the 21 countries that have already been announced, the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs have recommended the addition of six countries with official reports confirming the detection of this UK variant,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media forum.
The health official, however, did not mention the six additional countries.
Vergeire said the Philippines is restricting travel from countries with the confirmed UK variant until January 15.
On Tuesday, the DOH said the list of countries included in the travel ban shall be regularly updated to include countries that will officially report detection of the new variant pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution 91, as approved by President Duterte on December 29, 2020.
“The Office of the President may impose restrictions on travelers coming from countries—not included on the initial list—that report the presence of the new variant of Covid-19 based on the joint recommendation of the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs,” the DOH said in a media release on Tuesday night.
In view of this, the DOH reiterated that the list of countries included in the travel restrictions shall be “regularly updated” to include countries that will officially report detection of the variant.
As such, the DOH and the DFA’s joint recommendation for the inclusion of a country on the list may only be based on official sources, specifically: the official detection of the variant in a country as published in the respective government’s official channels, or official notification of a country to the International Health Regulations. Unofficial reports, including those reported by media outlets, do not qualify as official sources and therefore cannot be used as basis in recommending travel restrictions from a specific country.
Meanwhile, travelers from countries not included on the travel ban list shall be endorsed to the local government units once they test negative in RT-PCR tests at the point of entry.
Despite negative results, LGUs are strongly urged to ensure that travelers complete their 14-day quarantine period either at a facility or at home.
Image credits: AP/Matt Dunham