Philippines extends travelling ban until Jan 31 to limit pass on of COVID-19 variant
16 January, 2021
The Philippines on Fri (Jan 15) extended entry restrictions on travellers from 32 spots to curb the spread of the COVID-19 variant referred to as B117, first detected in the UK.
The original measures, which were collection to expire on Fri, will now be extended for another fourteen days, until Jan 31.
The Inter-Agency Task Drive (IATF) approved the recommendation to increase the travel restrictions, said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a news release.
The set of places includes the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the US.
The Philippines reported its first case of the UK COVID-19 variant on Wednesday, according to a press release by the Philippines' Division of Health.
The case was a Filipino man who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on Jan 7. He was swabbed and quarantined in a hotel after arrival. The UAE happens to be not on the list of the 32 places.
In December, the united states banned travellers, including Filipinos, from 19 countries and territories until mid-January as a measure to keep out the brand new variant of the coronavirus.
The Philippines also announced on Fri that contact tracing protocols would be strengthened and expanded to "third-generation contacts" for known COVID-19 variant cases.
All discovered close contacts of the conditions will get quarantined for two weeks in special conveniences and the remaining contacts from the air travel list will be advised of the appropriate quarantine protocols.
Those people who are found positive will undergo whole genome sequencing, apart from the approved testing and quarantine protocols, said Roque.
The IATF also approved continuing the weekly "genomic biosurveillance" among incoming passengers and local cases, with priority given to hospitalised patients, re-infected patients and those in clusters.
The Philippines has reported 494,605 cases and 9,739 deaths by Thursday, according to the Department of Health.
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