The Philippines on Sunday enforced a travel ban on seven more countries amid the growing threat of the Omicron variant overseas.
In its Resolution No. 151-A, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) added Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy in the "red list" or areas classified as high risk for COVID-19.
"The inbound international travel for all persons, regardless of vaccination status, coming from or who have been to 'Red List' countries/jurisdictions/territories within the last 14 days prior to arrival to any port of the Philippines shall not be allowed," read the resolution.
The ban will be implemented until December 15, according to the IATF.
Only returning Filipinos through repatriation flights and Bayanihan flights may be allowed entry subject to prevailing testing and quarantine protocols.
Passengers who are coming from the said areas within the past 14 days and will arrive before November 30 may still be allowed entry but will need to submit themselves to quarantine and COVID-19 testing.
Travelers who arrived before November 28 should need to complete their respective testing and quarantine protocols.
All passengers who are only transiting through the red list countries will not be deemed as having coming from or having been to said country if they stayed at the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry into such country by immigration authorities. However, they still need to undergo testing and quarantine upon arrival to the country.
More countries have been added to the red list amid the growing threat of the Omicron variant overseas.
Previously, the country added South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Botswana.
