A pharmacist makes an injection of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy in Paris, on June 4, 2021. – Doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine are now available in pharmacies in France from May 28, 2021. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The government’s COVID-19 task force on Wednesday released a list of “green” or low-risk countries for COVID-19 – jurisdictions where a fully vaccinated person must come from to qualify for a shorter quarantine period upon arrival in the Philippines.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) earlier allowed travelers fully vaccinated abroad entering the Philippines from “green” countries to undergo a seven-day facility-based quarantine, instead of 10 days.
These travelers should have stayed the past 14 days exclusively in “green” countries prior to arrival in the Philippines, the IATF stressed.
READ: Gov’t allows 7-day quarantine for fully vaccinated persons from ‘green’ countries
In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who also serves as IATF mouthpiece, said the following were listed as “green” countries by the task force:
- Albania
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Benin
- Belize
- The British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cayman Islands
- Chad
- China
- Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Eswatini
- Falkland Islands
- French Polynesia
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Hong Kong
- Iceland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Laos
- Liberia
- Malawi
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palau
- Rwanda
- Saba
- Saint Barthelemy
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Sierra Leone
- Senegal
- Singapore
- Sint Eustatius
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Togo
- Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
- Vietnam
- Zimbabwe
Presenting a Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO)-validated document as proof of vaccination status is exclusive to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Roque said.
The POLOs will begin accepting applications for vaccination status validation starting July 5, 2021.
Roque said OFWs who can present International Certificates of Vaccination can avail of “green lanes” starting July 1, provided they comply with other requirements.
Inbound passengers are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two or more weeks after receiving a single-dose shot or the second shot of a two-dose vaccine.
Vaccines administered to the individual must have either an emergency use authorization or a compassionate special permit from the Philippines Food and Drug Administration or is included in the World Health Organization’s emergency use listing.