PH imposes travel restriction on 9 areas under ‘red list’ starting Sept. 12

QUIET TERMINAL Few travelers are seen at Terminal 2 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to the COVID-19 pandemic INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has imposed a travel restriction on nine areas listed under its “red list” effective starting September 12, 2021, Malacañang said Friday.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved imposing travel restrictions on Azerbaijan, Guadeloupe, Guam, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Saint Lucia, and Switzerland, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

Roque said all passengers coming from or who have been on this “red list” countries within 14 days prior to arrival in the Philippines are prohibited from entering the country from September 12, 2021, at 12 noon until September 18, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

Exempted from the travel restriction are “returning Filipinos via government-initiated or non-government repatriation programs and special commercial flights,” added Roque.

Passengers from the aforementioned countries arriving in the Philippines before September 12 will be allowed entry.

“They, however, shall be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, where the first 10 days shall be at a quarantine facility and the remaining days under home quarantine in their respective local government units of destination,” Roque noted.

These passengers will undergo RT-PCR on the seventh day from their arrival and must complete a 10-day facility-based quarantine regardless of a negative COVID-19 test result.

In the case of Filipino or foreign passengers who merely transited through these countries under the red list, Roque said they shall not be considered as having come or having been to the said country, provided they only stayed at the airport and were not cleared for entry by immigration authorities.

Previously, the task force managing the COVID-19 pandemic lifted all travel restrictions to adopt the “red list” classification of countries, jurisdictions and territories.

JPV