Philippines bans travelers from South Africa, etc., over new COVID-19 variant

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has approved the temporary suspension of inbound international flights from South Africa, Botswana, and other countries with local cases or with the likelihood of occurrences of the B.1.1.529 variant.

According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the ban is effective immediately and would be so until December 15.

Nograles said the Bureau of Quarantine has been directed to locate travelers from the abovementioned countries who may have arrived in the recent 7 days prior to the temporary suspension of inbound travel. 

This will be done in close coordination with the local government units.

These travelers shall be required to undergo full 14-day facility-based quarantine with RT-PCR test on the 7th day or upon location of the passenger, whichever is later, with the date of arrival as Day 1.

The IATF likewise approved the temporary suspension of inbound international flights from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, which are adjacent to South Africa and Botswana.

Passengers coming from or having been to these abovementioned countries within the last 14 days prior to arrival shall be temporarily barred from entering the country. 

Passengers already in transit from the abovementioned countries and all those who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before 12:01AM of November 28, shall not be barred from entry, but shall be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols such as the observation of an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period, notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result.

All passengers, whether Filipinos or foreigners, merely transiting through the abovementioned countries shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to the said country if they stayed in the airport the entire time and were not cleared for entry into such country by its immigration authorities. 

Finally, upon arrival in the Philippines, passengers covered by the immediately preceding paragraph shall comply with existing testing and quarantine protocols.

B.1.1.529 variant

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said it is waiting for the report from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa which is believed to be more transmissible.

The WHO on Friday declared the B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19 to be a variant of concern, and renamed it Omicron.

The B.1.1.529 variant was found to have at least 10 mutations compared to two for Delta or three for Beta, and is being blamed for a surge of infections in South Africa.

National Task Force Against COVID-19 adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa underscored that Hong Kong should also be placed on the yellow or red list following the detection of the new variant.

Hong Kong is included in the green list areas with low risk for COVID-19 transmission. Those who are fully-vaccinated travelers from these areas may skip facility quarantine upon arrival.

However, Dr. Edsel Salvana, an infectious disease expert and a member of the DOH-Technical Advisory Group, said the country can also afford to have a low alert level even with the presence of the new coronavirus variant in Hong Kong, citing that COVID-19 transmissions in the country remain low.

He said the higher number of mutations does not necessarily mean that the variant has higher transmissibility or resistance to vaccines.

Experts abroad have expressed concern that the variant might make vaccines less effective due to its spike protein, which is different from the original coronavirus where vaccines are based. —NB/LDF/KG, GMA News