The authorities in the Philippines have tightened the quarantine and testing rules for incoming travelers due to the fear of infections related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Those flying from countries outside of the 14 banned countries will now face tighter regulations.
The Department of Health (DOH) has reported 544 new COVID-19 infections on Friday which have pushed the number of confirmed cases in the South-East Asian country to 2,833,878.
RELATED STORY: No death reports to date due to Omicron variant: WHO
Less than 1,000 cases have been recorded for the 10th straight day while the DOH has reported that 235 people died from Covid-19 complications that has brought the country’s death toll to 48,987.
According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, travelers must present a negative result of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab tests conducted 72 hours before their departure from the country of origin from Friday.
On their arrival, the vaccinated travelers can also undergo a facility-based quarantine and on the fifth day, their swab tests will be carried out again. Even if the result is negative, the travelers need to stay at home until the 14th day from the date of arrival.
READ ON: WHO yet to determine if Omicron can make people more ill
Earlier, incoming travelers outside the high-risk countries were only asked to self-monitor after a negative RT-PCR test result.
The unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated needs to present negative RT-PCR test results 72 hours before leaving the country of origin. (AW)
