IATF shortens hotel quarantine of fully vaxxed overseas Filipinos — DOT

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in an interview with INQUIRER.net. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat announced on Friday that the hotel quarantine period for fully vaccinated returning overseas Filipinos, including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from “yellow countries,” has been shortened  from five days to just three days starting November 22.

Puyat said the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF-EID) made the decision.

Those who have been fully vaccinated need to have a swab-test 72 hours before their departure from their respective “yellow countries.”

After testing negative from the pre-departure testing conducted in the “yellow” countries, Filipino returnees will be required to undergo three-day quarantine in hotels and they will be required to undergo a swab test again on the third day.

They will be released after testing negative but are encouraged to complete self-monitoring up to the 14th day of their arrival.

On the other hand, fully-vaccinated individuals who do not have their pre-departure testing will be quarantined in the facility until the fifth day.

After testing negative, the individual will be released from the facility but is required to undergo home quarantine until the 10th day.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated visitors shall undergo facility-based quarantine with testing on the seventh day. After testing negative, they will be required to undergo home quarantine up to the 14th day.

“Yellow countries” refer to those countries and territories that are not listed under the “red list” and “green list.”

There are currently 44 countries and territories under the country’s “green list.” They are:

American Samoa
Bhutan
Chad
China (Mainland)
Comoros
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Federated States of Micronesia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Malawi
Mali
Marshall Islands
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Niger
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Paraguay
Rwanda
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sint Eustatius
South Africa
Sudan
Taiwan
Togo
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Only the Netherlands and Faroe Islands were put under the “red list.”

Meanwhile, Puyat, in a statement, welcomed the IATF’s latest decision.

“This latest development will greatly contribute to the on-going recovery of the tourism sector this holiday season while also providing more time to those who want to return home to be with their loved ones in the Philippines,” Puyat said.

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