Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the UAE are urging the Philippine government to spare those who were already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Gulf country from the travel ban extension.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved late Monday night the extension of entry ban for inbound travelers from several countries including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE until June 15, 2021. It was supposed to end last Monday, May 31.
In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said it has already cancelled its flights to and from Dubai from June 1 to 15, upon the recommendation of the IATF.
“Tatay Digong sana po alisin niyo na ang UAE travel ban kasi almost all of the people here are vaccinated already and some companies like ours weekly po PCR test namin to make sure na nag iingat ang lahat ng employees,” an OFW named Fe commented.
“In fact, inintroduced na nga po dito ang 3rd dose vaccine booster. So please po listen to our pleas, lalo na kaming mga OFWs na gustong umuwi dahil matagal nang di nakasama ang pamilya,” she pleaded.
Another said: “Top most in good response to pandemic ang bansang UAE, maayos at matagumpay nilang naipapakita sa buong mundo ang mabuting pagtugon nila sa COVID-19.”
The OFW, like many others, is appealing to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to allow OFWs who have been overstaying their visas for months, pregnant women, as well as those who have laid off.
A spouse of a Filipina in Dubai said: “Please po yung asawa ko buntis at nagtapos na yung contract ilang beses na po nakacancel ang flight. Sana naman po hindi na sya abutin dito ng panganganak dahil said na said na po talaga kami.”
The IATF decided to extend the temporary entry ban on all passengers from the countries mentioned above due to the feared Indian COVID-19 variant or the B.1.617 strain.
Apart from India, Britain also has the most number of cases with the Indian variant.
The World Health Organization declared B.1.617 as a “variant of concern” or a global health threat, as it has been found in preliminary studies to spread more easily than the original virus.
