Authorities in the Philippines will ban travelers from eight more countries from December 16 to 31 in its efforts to contain the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Malacañang said on Wednesday that effective Dec. 16 to 31, travelers from the “high-risk” areas will be banned from entering the Philippines.
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Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the banned countries and territories are Andorra, France, Monaco, Northern Mariana Islands, Reunion, San Marino, South Africa and Switzerland.
The restriction covers everyone who has been to these 8 areas in the last 14 days regardless of their vaccination status.
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However, Filipinos returning through repatriation efforts and “Bayanihan” flights are exempted from the travel ban.
“All those who plan to come home during the holidays, we humbly request your patience as we in the IATF continue to make modifications to our protocols. These are all being done in response to evolving situations in the world. We want to keep our people safe, and we will do what is necessary to achieve that,” said Nograles.
