Ban Against Travelers From China, U.S. + More Starts Today

PHOTO BY Jerome Ascano

The Philippines is expanding its travel ban to include mainland China, Malacañang said on January 12, as the country guards against a more contagious COVID-19 strain.

Foreign travelers from Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxembourg, and Oman are also no longer allowed entry in the Philippines starting noon today, January 13, until Friday, January 15, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Filipinos coming from the said jurisdictions can return to the Philippines but must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine even if they test negative for COVID-19 via RT-PCR testing.

The Philippines' travel ban initially included only the United Kingdom, where the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected. The list now includes:

• Mainland China
• Pakistan
• Jamaica
• Luxembourg
• Oman
• Portugal
• India
• Finland
• Norway
• Jordan
• Brazil
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Denmark
• Ireland
• Japan
• Australia
• South Africa
• Israel
• Netherlands
• Canada
• France
• Switzerland
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Germany
• Iceland
• Italy
• Spain
• Lebanon
• Sweden
• South Korea

Authorities have yet to announce whether the travel ban will be extended or lifted after January 15.

This story originally appeared on Reportr.world. Minor edits have been made by the SPOT.ph editors.

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