(Eagle News) — The Philippine government has announced the inclusion of Hungary and the United Arab Emirates to its list of countries with travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government said foreign travelers from these countries will be temporarily banned from entering the Philippines starting January 17 until January 31.
Filipinos, on the other hand, who have been to the affected countries and jurisdiction in the last 14 days are required to undergo and complete a strict mandatory 14-day quarantine at a DOH-approved facility, regardless of a negative RT-PCR result.
With the addition of the two countries, the number of countries subject to travel restrictions climbed to 34.
On Friday, the government announced the restrictions covering the first 32 countries–which were supposed to be lifted on Friday–were extended until January 31.
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Japan
- Australia
- Israel
- Netherlands
- China, including Hong Kong
- Switzerland
- France
- Germany
- Iceland
- Italy
- Lebanon
- Singapore
- Sweden
- South Korea
- South Africa
- Canada
- Spain
- United States
- Portugal
- India
- Finland
- Norway
- Jordan
- Brazil
- Austria
- Pakistan
- Jamaica
- Luxembourg
- Oman
The addition of Hungary and the UAE, and the extension of the effectivity of restrictions in the other countries came days after the Department of Health and the Philippine Genome Center confirmed the existence of the UK COVID-19 virus strain in the Philippines.
The male patient–a Quezon City resident–had traveled briefly to Dubai, and tested positive for the strain upon arrival in the Philippines.