IATF releases new Red List - also suspends plan to reopen PH to foreign tourists
In addition to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved on Sunday, November 28, 2021, the placing of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy under the Red List effective November 28, 2021 until December 15, 2021.
Inbound international travel of all persons, regardless of vaccination status, coming from or who have been to Red List countries/jurisdictions/territories within the last 14 days prior to arrival to any port of the Philippines shall not be allowed.
Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated or non-government-initiated repatriation and Bayanihan Flights may be allowed entry subject to the prevailing entry, testing, and quarantine protocols for Red List countries/jurisdictions/territories.
Meanwhile, passengers already in transit and all those who have been to the abovementioned Red List countries/territories/jurisdictions within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before 0001H (12:01AM) of November 30, 2021, shall not be subject to this restriction from entry. They shall nevertheless be required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 14 days with testing on the 7th day, with day 1 being the date of arrival, notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result.
On the other hand, passengers who have already arrived prior to November 28, 2021 and are currently undergoing quarantine pursuant to the classifications of their country of origin, as the case may be, shall complete their respective testing and quarantine protocols.
In the case of passengers, whether Filipinos or foreigners, merely transiting through the abovementioned countries, they shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to said country if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry into such country by its immigration authorities.
Upon their arrival in the Philippines, passengers covered by the immediately preceding paragraph shall comply with existing testing and quarantine protocols.
The #Philippines temporarily suspends decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists entry in a bid to prevent the new #Omicron strain of the #coronavirus from taking off in the country where most of the population remains unvaccinated.#COVID19https://t.co/5KKyOpSfbK
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) November 29, 2021
The IATF likewise approved the temporary suspension of testing and quarantine protocols for countries/jurisdictions/territories classified as “Green” effective immediately until December 15, 2021. Except for countries classified as “Red,” the testing and quarantine protocols for all inbound international travellers in all ports of entry shall comply with the testing and quarantine protocols for “Yellow” list countries.
"But Omicron’s very emergence is another reminder although many of us might think we are done with #COVID19, it is not done with us.
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 29, 2021
We are living through a cycle of panic and neglect.
Hard-won gains could vanish in an instant"-@DrTedros #WHASpecial
| The WHO said the Omicron variant is likely to spread internationally, posing a “very high” global risk where COVID-19 surges could have “severe consequences” in some areas. |
On the other hand, arriving passengers coming from Green List countries/territories/jurisdictions who arrived prior to November 28, 2021 may still follow quarantine protocols assigned to their country of origin upon the date of their arrival.
Also approved in today’s meeting is the temporary suspension of IATF Resolution No. 150-A (s.2021) providing for the entry of fully vaccinated nationals of non-visa required countries under Executive Order No. 408 (s.1960), as amended, from Green List countries/jurisdictions/territories.
The overall global risk related to the new Omicron variant "is assessed as very high," according to a @WHO technical brief released Monday. https://t.co/EJfHCEpkO4
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) November 29, 2021
With Omicron designated as a Variant of Concern, the IATF likewise approved the recommendations to strengthen local COVID-19 response.
These include strongly enjoining the local government units to heighten their alert for increasing and clustering of cases and emphasizing the need for active case finding; to immediately conduct contact tracing and isolation of cases detected from case surveillance among the community, including domestic and international travelers; and to use RT-PCR testing in order to allow for whole-genome sequencing of collected samples.
The Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units are likewise directed to ensure targeted selection of samples for sequencing and address declining submissions of laboratories and regions from domestic and international travelers.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with the local government units (LGUs) have been directed to identify and locate passengers who arrived within 14 days prior to November 29, 2021, from countries classified as Red, and require them to complete quarantine under a home quarantine set-up for 14 days from date of arrival and undergo RT-PCR if symptoms develop.
The LGUs and the DILG are further directed to ensure strict implementation and adherence to the Prevent - Detect - Isolate - Test – Reintegrate strategy and adherence and compliance to minimum public health standards (MPHS) with the directive given to the Philippine National Police to enforce MPHS compliance.
In addition, the Department of Health is directed to ensure health system capacity is prepared to address increase of COVID-19 cases, if any; while the Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics is directed to begin preparing models to show potential impact of the Omicron variant to prevailing protocols and approvals of the IATF.
Source: PTV News Statement Of Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Sec. Nograles on the new IATF Red List
Pilipinas, muling naghigpit ng travel restrictions dahil sa Omicron variant
PH govt told to urgently ban travelers from Hong Kong amid Omicron threat
"It would be prudent on our part to suspend inbound travelers, particularly from Hong Kong, because of the close proximity of that country to our shores," Leachon explained on Sunday.
Dr. Tony Leachon, a former adviser of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said Hong Kong must be immediately included in the temporary travel ban considering how close it is to the Philippines and the many Filipino domestic workers who are expected to return home during the Christmas season.
Malacañang says it is the IATF's discretion whether to retain a country's yellow or green list status should it have imported cases of the new coronavirus variant, adding it will depend on the nation's genome sequencing and case detection efforts. https://t.co/rJp9cLDLsj
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) November 29, 2021
The government must decide with a sense of urgency when it comes to travel restrictions on Hong Kong to prevent the entry of the Omicron variant, especially with the holiday season fast approaching.
As of Sunday, the Philippines banned inbound flights from 14 nations, but Hong Kong is still part of the Philippines' yellow list.
IATF suspends plan to reopen PH to foreign tourists: Bureau of Immigration
MANILA – 29 November 2021 - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has suspended a plan to reopen the country to foreign travelers amid the threat of new Covid-19 Omicron variant.
“The IATF deemed it necessary to suspend the entry of foreign tourists, given worldwide concerns over the Omicron variant,” BI Commissioner Jaime Morente in a statement.
“For now, the current general travel restrictions stand. Only Filipinos, balikbayan, and those with long term visas from green and yellow list countries may be allowed entry,” he added.
He said travelers from seven European countries have also been barred from entering the country.
The nations that have been added to the IATF’s “red list” from Nov. 28 to Dec. 15 are Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy.
“Those coming from red list countries within the last 14 days prior to arrival shall not be allowed to enter the Philippines,” he added.
Morente said the IATF ruling allowed the entry of Filipinos, who may be assisted in their return via government and non-government repatriation and Bayanihan flights, but will be subject to the health protocols as set by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).
He added that those already in transit from red list countries who will arrive before Nov. 30, if part of the allowable classes, may enter the country and will also be subjected to BOQ protocols.
Meanwhile, BI Port Operations Division chief lawyer Carlos Capulong reminded airline companies to carefully inspect the document of travelers prior to boarding to ensure that only those allowed entry may fly to the country.
“We are conducting 100 percent passport inspection to ensure that we see the complete travel history of the arriving passengers,” he said.
Capulong said aliens who are inadmissible but were allowed to board will be denied entry, and will warrant a penalty to the erring airline.
