IATF eyeing shortened quarantine period for vaccinated individuals

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s COVID-19 task force is eyeing to shorten the quarantine period for vaccinated individuals to five to seven days, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said.

“Pinaguusapan na po sa IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases], in fact po, finafinalize na lang po namin ito, magiging five to seven days na lang yung quarantine period sa mga vaccinated,” Año said in a taped meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte aired Thursday.

(The IATF is already talking about this, in fact, we’re finalizing this. The quarantine period for the vaccinate will be five to seven days.)

Duterte asked the IATF if it is possible to shorten the quarantine period for vaccinated individuals.

“If you can talk to the task force, is it really demanded of the moment, is it really a compelling thing to complete the 10-day detention?” Duterte said.

“When this thing COVID came in, they were talking about the incubation period of about seven days lang. I may be wrong, I may have misheard pero kung totoo yan, 7 days na lang para kasi kung magpasok yan, it will manifest sa katawan mo within seven days,” he added.

(When this thing COVID came in, they were talking about the incubation period of seven days. I may be wrong, I may have misheard but if it’s true, reduce the quarantine period to seven days because if it enters your body, the virus will manifest in your body within seven days.)

According to guidelines of the IATF, inbound travelers from countries classified under the “green list” qualify for seven-day facility-based quarantine instead of 10 days.

Those coming from countries considered as “yellow risk” must undergo a 14-day quarantine composed of a 10-day facility-based quarantine and four-day home quarantine.

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