Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, 42 others placed on COVID-19 ’green’ list — IATF

Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and 42 others have been included in the Philippines’ latest list of areas with low risk for COVID-19 transmission, allowing fully vaccinated travelers from these countries and territories to skip facility quarantine upon arrival. 

Joining Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, both popular OFW destinations, on the Green List are the following: 

-American Samoa
-Bhutan
-Chad
-China (Mainland)
-Comoros
-Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
-Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
-Federated States of Micronesia
-Guinea
-Guinea-Bissau
-India
-Indonesia
-Japan
-Kosovo
-Kuwait
-Kyrgyzstan
-Malawi
-Mali
-Marshall Islands
-Montserrat
-Morocco
-Namibia
-Niger
-Northern Mariana Islands
-Oman
-Pakistan
-Palau
-Paraguay
-Rwanda
-Saint Barthelemy
-Saint Pierre and Miquelon
-Senegal
-Sierra Leone
-Sint Eustatius
-South Africa
-Sudan
-Taiwan
-Togo
-Uganda
-United Arab Emirates
-Zambia
-Zimbabwe

Last month, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said travelers from these areas must present a negative result of their RT-PCR test taken 72 hours before departure. Upon arrival, they are required to undergo home quarantine for 14 days.

Faroe Islands and The Netherlands are under the Red List or high risk areas, which means foreign travelers from these jurisdictions are barred from entering the Philippines. 

All other countries, territories, and jurisdictions not indicated are under the Yellow List. Travelers from these areas may be allowed to enter, subject to applicable quarantine and testing protocols. 

The updated risk classification of countries and territories will be implemented from November 16 to 30, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

In a separate statement, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente reiterated that foreign tourists are not yet allowed to enter the country. 

"Following IATF resolutions, currently, only Filipinos, balikbayans, and foreigners with valid and existing visas that would be coming from countries under the Green or Yellow list may be allowed to enter the Philippines," he said. 

The IATF also approved the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs for the national COVID-19 vaccination certificates of Australia, Czech Republic, Georgia, India, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Turkey, and Samoa to be accepted or recognized for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols, as well as for interzonal/intrazonal movement.  

The recommendation was in addition to such other countries/territories/jurisdictions whose proofs of vaccination the IATF already approved for recognition in the Philippines, and without prejudice to such other proofs of vaccination approved by IATF for all inbound travelers.

The Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation-One-Stop-Shop, and the Bureau of Immigration, for their part, are directed to recognize only the proofs of vaccination approved by the IATF. — VBL, GMA News