The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) may now consider downgrading the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from “yellow” to “green” list given the high vaccination rate in the country, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.
Bello, however, stressed that it will still depend on recommendations from health authorities.
“It will be the opinion or recommendation of the medical experts, which will be given weight on the said issue,” Bello said.
If the UAE will be moved to the “green list”, it means fully vaccinated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) no longer have to undergo facility-based quarantine if they present a negative test that was conducted 72 hours before their departure.
Labor attache for Abu Dhabi Manuel Dimaano said in a virtual press briefing Monday that 90 percent of the UAE population have already received the COVID-19 vaccine.
“They are now in the process of administering booster shots,” he added.
Currently, the UAE remains under the “yellow list” territories, which means Filipinos from the Middle East country entering the Philippines still have to undergo facility-based quarantine.
OFWs have been urging the Philippine government to place the UAE under the “green list” category as new COVID-19 cases in the Middle East country continue to dip.
They pointed out that not only are COVID-19 cases dropping in the country, but vaccination rates are also among the highest in the world.
