No more quarantine for vaccinated Pinoys, gov’t urged

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion has called anew on the government to consider removing the facility-based quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated Filipinos coming from the United States and Canada.

In a statement, Concepcion said his proposal was meant to make it easier for Filipinos abroad to come home and reunite with their families during the holidays, which ultimately would also be good for business since people would spend more.

Concepcion said the United States and Canada are currently not on the Philippines’ list of green countries, which means that fully vaccinated travelers from these countries would still be required to undergo a COVID test after spending five days at a quarantine facility.

Under Concepcion’s proposal, travelers from the United States and Canada would be tested 48 hours before departure and tested again on their arrival in the Philippines.

The test would be done either at their homes if they live within Metro Manila, or at the quarantine hotel if they don’t have a place to stay. The proposed system will necessitate confirmed test schedules from the passengers.

For peace of mind

“This already is such a substantial reduction from being tested only after the required five days spent at the quarantine hotel; they only have to spend one day at the hotel if they can’t do the testing at home,” said Concepcion.

“We can do this to give peace of mind to our returning Filipinos and their loved ones and the families they will go home to. As the Christmas spending starts, a lot of the country’s businesses will reap the benefits,” he added.

Concepcion said he was now working with the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL), to align with testing laboratories and address the possible increase in demand for testing.

Citing data from PAL, Concepcion said the positivity rates among inbound passengers from North America had been relatively low.

OCTA Research, which partnered with Concepcion’s Go Negosyo to advise the latter on COVID-19 data issues, also said local transmissions account for almost all of the new COVID-19 cases in the country today.