Saturday, September 4, 2021

Coming Home to the PH? There's a New Red-Yellow-Green System for International Arrivals

PHOTO BY Ina Carolino/Unsplash

The Philippines is adopting a new Red-Yellow-Green system for international arrivals, slated to replace the blanket travel-ban on 10 countries currently in place. Said travel bans will be lifted on Monday, September 6. 

Also read: PAL Files for Bankruptcy; Here's How It Plans to Keep Flying

The current ban covers Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. When it expires, the new system will be used to determine who can enter the Philippines and the corresponding health protocols. 

On September 6, the online vaccine registry VaxCertPH for international departures will also be launched, prioritizing first those who live in Metro Manila or Baguio City.

What to Know About the Red-Yellow-Green System for International Arrivals in the PH

Countries where travelers are coming from will be classified based on their COVID incidence rate, or cumulate cases over 28 days per 100,000 population, case counts or cumulative cases over the past 28 days and testing, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19.

This is based on their respective incidence rates and case counts as primary criteria, and testing data as secondary criteria. The incidence rate is the cumulative new cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 population while case counts are cumulative new cases over the past 28 days.

You can check whether travelers will be allowed into the Philippines based on their country of origin's color classification. We round up the details below, accrding to Presidential and IATF Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Red List: High Risk

  • Inbound international travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or who have been to places on the "Red List" shall not be allowed to enter the Philippines.
  • Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation, and Bayanihan flights may be allowed entry, subject to entry, testing and quarantine protocols.
  • Those allowed in will undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival. They have to complete the first 10 days in a quarantine facility while the remaining four days must be spent under home quarantine in their respective local government units of destination.
  • They will undergo RT-PCR testing on the seventh day, with their day of arrival serving as Day 1. Notwithstanding a negative test result, they have to complete their facility quarantine for 10 days.
  • The Bureau of Quarantine will ensure strict symptom monitoring while in the facility quarantine for 10 days.
  • All passengers, whether Filipinos or foreigners, merely transiting through a "Red List" country/jurisdiction/ territory shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to said country/jurisdiction/territory if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry by its immigration authorities.
  • Upon arrival in the Philippines, passengers merely transiting though a "Red List" country/jurisdiction/territory shall be covered with existing testing and quarantine protocols.
  • For populations greater than 100,000 the incidence rate shall be more than 500.
  • For populations less than 100,000, the COVID-19 case counts shall be more than 500.
  • Testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population.

Yellow List: Moderate Risk

  • Inbound international travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or with travel history within the last 14 days prior to their arrival in the Philippines from "Yellow List" countries/jurisdictions/territories will be governed by entry, testing and quarantine protocols.
  • They will undergo 14-day quarantine upon arrival. They have to complete the first 10 days in a quarantine facility while the remaining 4 days must be spent under home quarantine in their respective local government units of destination.
  • They will undergo RT-PCR testing on the seventh day, with their day of arrival serving as Day 1. Notwithstanding a negative test result, they have to complete their facility quarantine for 10 days.
  • The Bureau of Quarantine will ensure strict symptom monitoring while in the facility quarantine for 10 days.
  • For populations greater than 100,000, the incidence rate shall be 50 to 500
  • For populations less than 100,000, the COVID-19 case counts shall be 50 to 500
  • Testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population.

Green List

  • The Green List system was in place before the Red and Yellow tiers. Arrivals from green list countries and jurisdictions can quarantine for seven days instead of 10.

Here are the Green List jurisdictions as of September 4, 2021:

  • American Samoa
  • Anguilla
  • Australia
  • Benin
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chad
  • China
  • Comoros
  • Republic of the Congo
  • Djibouti
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
  • Gabon
  • Grenada
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • Mali
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Montserrat
  • New Caledonia
  • New Zealand
  • Niger
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Palau
  • Poland
  • Saba
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Sierra Leone
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Slovakia
  • Taiwan

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Source: Spot PH

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