PH updates ‘Red, Green, Yellow’ list, Covid-19 protocols

MANILA – The Philippines has revised the roster of “red, yellow, and green” countries and jurisdictions, as well as the testing and quarantine protocols for arriving passengers.

The red, yellow, and green list was updated during the meeting of members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday.

In a press statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Romania is the only country that has been included in the red list.

On the other hand, there are around 49 states and jurisdictions on the green list, Roque said.

Included in the green list are Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.

Roque said all other countries, jurisdictions, or territories are listed under the yellow list.

The updated roster will take effect from October 16 to 31.

Updated testing, quarantine rules

Roque said the IATF-EID also “streamlined and codified” the testing and quarantine protocols for travelers entering the Philippines.

Arriving passengers from red countries will be barred if they stay there 14 days prior to their arrival to the Philippines.

“Inbound international travel of all persons, regardless of vaccination status, coming from or who have been to Red List within the last 14 days prior to arrival to the Philippines shall not be allowed,” Roque said.

However, all passengers merely transiting through the red country should not be deemed as “having come from or having been to said country or jurisdiction or territory if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry by its immigration authorities,” he said.

“Upon arrival in the Philippines, passengers covered by the preceding paragraph shall comply with the existing and testing protocols,” he said.

Roque said Filipinos returning to the country through government-initiated or non-government-initiated repatriation, as well as Bayanihan Flights, may also be allowed entry, “subject to testing and quarantine protocols.”

He added that returning Filipinos from countries under the red list are required to spend their first 10 days in a quarantine facility and the last four days at home, once they return to the country.

They are also mandated to take reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on their seventh day in the country, Roque said.

“Notwithstanding a negative test result, the arriving passenger shall complete the facility-based quarantine period of 10 days,” he said.

Roque said the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) has been directed to ensure strict symptom monitoring of travelers from red countries while in the facility quarantine for 10 days.

For fully-vaccinated passengers from yellow countries, they need to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken on their fifth day in the Philippines, Roque said.

“After which, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine until their 10th day. Foreign nationals shall be required to secure their pre-booked accommodation of at least 6 days,” he said.

Roque said unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers, as well as those with unverified vaccination status, have to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken on their seventh day in the country.

They are required to undergo home quarantine for another week, while foreigners have to secure pre-booked accommodation of at least eight days, Roque added.

Meantime, fully-vaccinated foreigners from green list countries no longer need to undergo a facility-based quarantine, on the condition that they yield negative RT-PCR test results taken within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

“Upon arrival, no facility-based quarantine will be further required but the passenger is enjoined to self-monitor for any symptoms until the 14th day,” Roque said.

Roque said fully-vaccinated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) or non-OFWs from green states also have the option to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken in the quarantine facility upon arrival in the country.

They may also opt not to undergo quarantine, so long as they get a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

However, they are also advised to self-monitor for any symptoms until their 14th day in the country, Roque said.

He said unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, and those with unverified vaccination status, and those who failed to comply with the “test-before-travel requirements” need to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on their fifth day in the country.

“In the case of foreign nationals, they shall be required to secure hotel reservations for at least six days,” he said.

In the case of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated minors traveling with their fully-vaccinated parents or guardians, they are mandated to observe the quarantine protocols corresponding to their vaccination status, Roque said.

“A parent/guardian shall accompany the child in the quarantine facility for the full term of the latter’s facility-based quarantine period,” he said.

OFWs and their spouse, parents, or children traveling in the Philippines or abroad can present either VaxCertPH digital vaccination certificate, International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV) issued by BOQ or the World Health Organization (WHO), or the national digital certificate of the foreign government accepting VaxCertPH to validate their vaccination status.

The same requirements can be presented by non-OFWs vaccinated in the country or abroad, and foreigners vaccinated in the Philippines, Roque said.

Roque said foreigners vaccinated abroad can present WHO-issued ICV, or the national digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF-EID.