The Manila Times

Easing of travel rules seen to sustain growth

BY CATHERINE S. VALENTE

PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd said on Friday the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to relax international travel restrictions would help sustain the country’s growth. Concepcion, the founder of Go Negosyo, thanked the government and the medical experts for heeding the call to return to less-strict travel rules following the downtrend in Covid-19 cases in the country.

“We faced so many challenges the past two years but as always, we need to move forward. We need to protect our economy from getting Covid. Today’s decision on the quarantine is a step and sign that we are starting to move on,” Concepcion said in a statement.

“This will definitely help the economy and sustain the growth we experienced in the fourth quarter of 2021,” he added.

On Friday, acting Palace spokesman Karlo Alexei Nograles announced that fully vaccinated travelers from countries with visafree entry to the Philippines and returning overseas Filipinos will no longer be required to quarantine but must present a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test results.

In a virtual press briefing, Nograles said the new protocols on the entry, testing and quarantine for fully vaccinated returning overseas Filipinos, regardless of their country of origin, will take effect starting February 1 and February 10 for leisure travelers.

Under the new protocols, they will no longer be required to go through mandatory facility-based quarantine but must self-monitor for any sign or symptom of Covid-19 for seven days.

They must also present a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

International travelers must present proof of Covid-19 vaccination, such as the World Health Organization International Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis, VaxCertPH, or national/state digital certificates from foreign governments which have accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement, unless otherwise permitted by the IATF.

Those who suspect they have Covid symptoms must report to the local government unit of their destination.

The Philippines has also temporarily suspended its green, yellow and red Covid-19 risk classifications for countries, territories and jurisdictions due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Under the IATF’s new resolution, the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated must present a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

They must undergo facilitybased quarantine until an RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day shows they are Covid-free.

They must then undergo home quarantine.

The destination LGUs and their Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams will monitor arriving passengers undergoing home quarantine.

“This aligns with the proposal to adopt a change from a pandemic to an endemic mindset,” Concepcion said.

He said the move will help revive the tourism sector, which has suffered immensely from nearly two years of travel restrictions designed to contain the spread of Covid-19.

“We can now welcome both leisure and business travelers, and this will redound to benefits downstream for our MSMEs,” he said.

Concepcion and OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco had asked the IATF to begin mapping out the country’s exit plan from the pandemic.

Among the first steps, they suggested was the easing of international travel restrictions.

Creating confidence in vaccines was also considered a key step.

The Philippines saw a spike in new infections following the holiday season and the entry of the Omicron variant, but cases have declined as of mid-January and are believed to drop further by February.

On Friday, the Department of Health (DoH) reported 18,638 new Covid-19 cases, with active cases rising to 321,658.

Total recoveries jumped to 3,511,491 or 91.9 percent of the total caseload.

Covid-related deaths totaled 53,801 with the addition of 68 new fatalities.

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2022-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://manilatimes.pressreader.com/article/281612423791851

The Manila Times