PH temporarily bans entry of travelers from Guam, 8 countries

REUTERS

Travelers from nine countries are being temporarily barred from entering the Philippines until Sept. 18, 2021.

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration announced Saturday the temporary ban on the entry of passengers coming from nine countries: Azerbaijan, Guadeloupe, Guam, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Saint Lucia, and Switzerland.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in an advisory that, as recommended by the country’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, passengers coming from, or who have been in these nine countries within the last 14 days prior to their arrival to the Philippines, shall temporarily be denied entry.

The ban does not include those who are merely transiting through these countries and are only staying within the airport for a layover. Also, passengers already in transit from any of the nine countries who will arrive before the implementation of the travel ban may be allowed to enter, subject to existing policies of the Bureau of Quarantine.

Filipinos arriving from countries under the nine countries under government or nongovernment repatriation programs or bayanihan flights may be allowed entry, but shall undergo a strict 14-day facility-based quarantine and be required to take a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test that will be monitored by the BOQ.