(Eagle News) — The Philippines has temporarily banned inbound international flights from South Africa and other countries with reported cases of the B.1.1.529 variant or with a likelihood of such variant cases.
According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the temporary ban on travelers also from Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, which are near South Africa, is in effect immediately until Dec. 15.
Nograles said passengers coming from or who have been to those countries within the last 14 days prior to arrival in the Philippines shall be temporarily barred from entering the country.
Passengers already in transit from those countries and all those who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before 12:01 AM of November 28, shall not be barred from entry.
However, Nograles said they shall be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols including the observation of an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, even with an RT-PCR test that yields negative results.
All passengers, whether Filipinos or foreigners, merely transiting through those countries shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to the said country if they stayed in the airport the entire time, without having been cleared for entry into those countries by immigration authorities.
The B.1.1.529 variant, or Omicron, classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, was identified in South Africa.
Reports have said cases have also been identified in Hong Kong, Belgium, and Israel.
Hong Kong is included in the Philippines’ green list, which means the Philippines considers HK has low COVID-19 transmission.
That means travelers from HK and those who have been there preceding 14 days upon their arrival in the Philippines are allowed entry into the Philippines, provided they belong to a category the Philippine government allows inside the country.
The B.1.1.529 variant was found to have at least 10 mutations compared to the two mutations for Delta or three for Beta.
It is believed to be more transmissible than Delta and is being blamed for a surge of infections in South Africa.
