(Eagle News) – Malacanang said that it is closely monitoring the situation in the United States which confirmed the entry of the new COVID-19 variant that is said to be more infectious than previous strains.
A Palace statement, however, said that the decision to include U.S. among the countries where incoming and outgoing flights are banned would be based on what will be the recommendation of the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
“We are closely monitoring the situation in the United States (US) regarding the new COVID-19 strain in Colorado. Concerned local officials are now studying this matter,” the statement from Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020.
-Restrictions upon recommendation of IATF-
“As to whether the President may impose restrictions to travelers coming from the United States in light of this new development, the guidance of the Chief Executive is clear: This shall be upon the joint recommendation of the Department of Health (DOH), which sits as Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),” Roque’s statement added.
-Temporary travel ban on UK, 19 other countries-
On Tuesday, Dec. 29, the Philippines has decided to extend until Jan. 15, 2021 the temporary suspension of flights from the United Kingdom where the highly infectious new variant of the COVID-19 virus, Sars-CoV2, was first detected. The variant called B.1.1.7 is said to be up to 70 percent more infectious than previous COVID-19 strains.
The temporary ban also prohibits the entry of all travelers “coming from or transiting through, the United Kingdom” until Jan. 15 next year.
The Philippines also issued a temporary travel ban from December 30 to January 15, 2021 for all foreign travelers coming from, or transiting through, the following countries / areas listed below or who have been to the same places mentioned below within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines:
1. Denmark
2. Ireland
3. Japan
4. Australia’
5. Israel
6. The Netherlands
7. Hong Kong, SAR
8. Switzerland
9. France
10. Germany
11. Iceland
12. Italy
13. Lebanon
14. Singapore
15. Sweden
16. South Korea
17. South Africa
18. Canada
19. Spain
The DOH has said that this travel ban may later include other countries which would confirm the presence of the highly infectious new variant of the COVID-19 virus.
(Eagle News Service)
