Philippine authorities have said that Pinoys from red list countries can directly fly home without using ‘Bayanihan’ flights.
This came as the government lifted travel restrictions on its ‘red list’ or high-risk countries.
Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles saI’d the inbound travelers from red list countries need to “present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to departure, facility-based quarantine and RT-PCR test taken on the 7th day. If negative, they need to undergo home quarantine until the 14th day.”
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The government’s pandemic task force placed 14 countries under its red list from Jan. 16 to 31. Filipinos from these territories will now be allowed to enter the Philippines subject to quarantine without the need for a “Bayanihan” flight.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made this announcement amid the spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country.
Nograles said the following territories will be under the red list from January 16 until the end of the month:
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Canada, Curacao, French Guiana, Iceland, Malta, Mayotte, Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Spain and US Virgin Islands.
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The travelers will be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before their departure, and to undergo facility-based quarantine with an RT-PCR test taken on the seventh day.
Before this, the Filipinos from red list countries could have only returned home via government and non-government initiated repatriation efforts and Bayanihan flights.
