Travelers from China to face tighter PH quarantine rules

A recent COVID outbreak in China made the Ninoy Aquino International Airport a busy spot for monitoring Chinese visitors. ( INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in China, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Friday that it would tighten its quarantine standards for visitors arriving from that country.

“To strengthen its existing measures, the DOH directed the Bureau of Quarantine to intensify quarantine protocols such as heightened surveillance on all respiratory symptoms in all travelers and conveyances coming from China,” the DOH said in a statement.

The DOH also announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) would review the standards for border control for Chinese visitors to the nation and make recommendations to the President.

On Thursday, Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said no need to restrict travel to or from China.

READ: China’s COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t require border closures, DOH says

However, the country’s Department of Transportation is recommending mandatory COVID-19 testing for passengers from China.

READ: COVID-19 tests eyed for travelers from China

Currently, the government only requires unvaccinated or foreign travelers who are not fully vaccinated to present a negative pre-departure antigen or RT-PCR test results before travel or upon arrival.

It can be recalled that the Omicron sub-variant behind China’s current surge has already arrived in the Philippines.

READ: Omicron strain behind China surge now in PH

The DOH said four cases of the Omicron subvariant BF.7 were detected in the country, based on the genome sequencing conducted by the Philippine Genome Center.

/abc