DFA strongly advises travelers to postpone trip to PH amid travel ban

Department of Foreign Affairs. (Photo from the DFA Facebook account)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated its advice to travelers coming from or transiting through countries that have reported cases of the new COVID-19 variant to postpone their trips to the Philippines.

“The DFA strongly advises that all travelers to the country carefully reconsider their travel plans, including postponing their trips until after the end of the travel restrictions to avoid personal inconvenience and possible additional expenses, as well as help prevent the incidence of the new COVID-19 strain in the country,” the agency said in a statement.

Earlier, the Philippines government banned travelers from 20 countries with recorded cases of the new COVID-19 variant from entering the country from Dec. 30 to Jan. 15 next year.

The DFA reminded overseas Filipinos abroad of the following:

• All overseas Filipinos are reminded of the limited quarantine facilities in place and are thus strongly urged to reconsider travel plans to the Philippines for the duration of the travel restrictions, which is set to end on Jan. 15, 2021.
• Those entering the country from affected countries and jurisdiction are also reminded that they will be required to undergo and complete a strict mandatory 14-day quarantine at a Department of Health-approved facility, regardless of negative RT-PCR result.

The DFA said non-Filipino nationals coming from the concerned countries and jurisdiction, regardless of previous visa status, exemptions granted, or relation to Filipino citizens, will temporarily be restricted from entering the Philippines.

“As always, the DFA reminds travelers to always check ahead of travel dates with their airlines before departure or before booking a ticket as information published could change at any time,” it added.

To date, the Philippines has recorded a total of 474,064 cases of COVID-19, with over 430,000 recoveries and 9,244 deaths.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos have so far reached 12,876 cases.

Of the number, 8,387 have already recovered while 911 have succumbed to the disease.

JPV