The Philippines has temporarily suspended a decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists entry in a bid to prevent the spreading of omicron COVID-19 variant.
So far, the country has not reported any cases of the omicron strain, which was first detected in South Africa and has since spread around the globe. But the Philippines on Sunday further tightened border controls to keep out the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, adding seven European countries to a travel ban that initially covered seven African nations.
Now in addition to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, the Philippines coronavirus task force has placed Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy under "red list" until December 15, banning the entry of travellers from these countries.
“The IATF deemed it necessary to suspend the entry of foreign tourists, given worldwide concerns over the omicron variant,” Bureau of Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said Monday, using the acronym for the task force.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.8 million infections since the start of the pandemic, including over 48,000 deaths. Around one-third of the Philippines 110 million people are fully vaccinated as well.
So far, the country has not reported any cases of the omicron strain, which was first detected in South Africa and has since spread around the globe. But the Philippines on Sunday further tightened border controls to keep out the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, adding seven European countries to a travel ban that initially covered seven African nations.
Now in addition to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, the Philippines coronavirus task force has placed Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy under "red list" until December 15, banning the entry of travellers from these countries.
“The IATF deemed it necessary to suspend the entry of foreign tourists, given worldwide concerns over the omicron variant,” Bureau of Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said Monday, using the acronym for the task force.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.8 million infections since the start of the pandemic, including over 48,000 deaths. Around one-third of the Philippines 110 million people are fully vaccinated as well.
