December 29, 2020

UPDATED ADVISORY FOR TRAVELERS TO THE PHILIPPINES ON THE ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO BE OBSERVED RELATIVE TO THE SARS-COV-2 VARIANT DETECTED IN THE UK

(Updated to include the US)

In accordance with Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 91 dated 29 December 2020 and in the interest of protecting the health and safety of the Filipino people, please be informed that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has approved the following additional measures to be observed to address the risks posed by the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2:

A. The temporary suspension of flights from, and the prohibition of entry on all travelers coming from or transiting through, the United Kingdom, imposed pursuant to IATF Resolution No. 90 issued on 23 December 2020, is hereby extended until January 15, 2021, except as modified herein with respect to Filipino citizens;

B. All foreign travelers coming from, and or transiting through, the countries/jurisdictions listed hereunder or who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall likewise be prohibited from entering the country effective 0001H of 30 December 2020 until 15 January 2021,
to wit:

a. Denmark                                                         k. Iceland
b. Ireland                                                             l. Italy
c. Japan                                                               m. Lebanon
d. Australia                                                         n. Singapore
e. Israel                                                                o. Sweden
f. The Netherlands                                            p. South Korea
g. Hong Kong, SAR                                           q. South Africa
h. Switzerland                                                     r. Canada
i. France                                                               s. Spain
j. Germany                                                          t. United States

C. Effectively immediately, passengers who are already in transit and arrive before 0001H of 30 December 2020 from the countries/jurisdictions listed in Paragraph B, including those who have been to the same countries/jurisdictions within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall not be prohibited from entering the Philippines, but shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period notwithstanding a negative Reverse Transcription- Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) result;

D. Likewise effective immediately, Filipino citizens coming from countries and jurisdictions mentioned in Paragraphs A and B, or who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall not be prohibited from entering the country, but shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result;

E. Restrictions on travelers coming from other countries that report the presence of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be imposed by the Office of the President upon the joint recommendation of the DOH and the DFA;

F. Outbound travel to countries with reported new variants shall be subject to the existing exit protocols of the Philippines as well as entry protocols of the respective countries;

G. Laboratories at points of entry are directed to submit the specimens of travelers from countries with reported cases of the new variant to the Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health for genome sequencing. Further, RITM is directed to develop a Standard Operating Procedure/Response Protocol for reports of new variants and strains of SARS-CoV-2;

H. The Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are directed to ensure strict adherence to quarantine and testing protocols for returning Filipinos and Overseas Filipino Workers and provide line list to Local Government Units (LGUs) to ensure completion and monitoring of 14-day quarantine and DOH COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit for case profile and trend analysis; and

I. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is directed to ensure that all other inbound international travelers from countries not covered by Paragraphs A and B strictly finish the 14-day quarantine following the existing quarantine protocols of the national government, which allow home quarantine after testing negative on RT-PCR at the point of entry.

For the public’s information and guidance.

29 December 2020

Advisory on Additional Measures Res 91 as of 29 December 2020