New testing, quarantine protocols for travelers to be implemented starting February 1 — Palace

The Philippines will implement new COVID-19 testing and quarantine protocols for people coming from abroad beginning February 1 as the country aims to curb the spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus.

Arriving passengers, regardless of their origin, will be required to undergo facility-based quarantine upon arrival, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday, citing the decision of the policy-making Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on Tuesday.

Travelers will then undergo RT-PCR test on the fifth day from their date of arrival in the country, unless the passenger shows symptoms at an earlier date while on quarantine.  

Those who tested negative will be endorsed to their respective local government units, which will strictly monitor the remainder of their 14-day quarantine.

“Appropriate patient management shall be observed,” Roque said.

The Philippines imposed entry restrictions on foreign passengers from 35 countries as a precautionary measure against the new variants. The travel restrictions will last until January 31 unless further extended by the government.

The country has so far recorded 17 UK variant cases, 12 of which were traced in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

However, the Department of Health said there was “no strong evidence” of community transmission of the UK variant based on the benchmarks set by the World Health Organization.

These include the appearance of a large number of cases, occurrence of case clusters in multiple areas and inability to link cases to known sources of infection.

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte overturned the IATF’s decision to allow minors aged 10 to 14 to go out with their parents or guardians in areas under modified general community quarantine, citing dangers posed by the UK variant.

In response, the IATF has “postponed the relaxation” of the age-based restrictions in compliance with the presidential directive, Roque said. — RSJ, GMA News