BI names 41 countries under Philippines’ green list

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on Thursday that 41 countries have been included in the Philippine’s green list, as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

The green list destinations are classified as “low-risk” for COVID-19 by the IATF.

These countries include:

•     Bangladesh
•     Benin
•     Bhutan
•     British Virgin Islands
•     Chad
•     People’s Republic of China
•     Comoros
•     Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
•     Democratic Republic of the Congo
•     Djibouti
•     Equatorial Guinea
•     Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
•     The Gambia
•     Ghana
•     Guinea
•     Hong Kong (Chinese Special Administrative Region)
•     Indonesia
•     Japan
•     Kenya
•     Kosovo
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Liberia
•     Montserrat
•     Morocco
•     Oman
•     Pakistan
•     Paraguay
•     Rwanda
•     Saba (Special Municipality of The Kingdom of the Netherlands)
•     Saint Barthelemy
•     Saint Pierre and Miquelon
•     Senegal
•     Sierra Leone
•     Sint Eustatius
•     Sudan
•     Taiwan
•     Timor-Leste (East Timor)
•     Togo
•     Uganda
•     United Arab Emirates

Meanwhile, eight countries remain in the red list including Andorra, France, Monaco, Northern Mariana Islands, Réunion, San Marino, South Africa, and Switzerland.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergerie said on Wednesday that the IATF is considering including countries with local transmission of the Omicron COVID-19 variant to the red list.

She, however, emphasized that the presence of the Omicron variant is not part of the factors in the classification of red list countries.

As of December 15, a total of 79 countries have detected the Omicron variant, of which 34 have suspected or confirmed local transmission.

DOH announced on Wednesday that the Philippines has detected the Omicron variant from two international travelers.

Travelers from red list countries or those with a travel history there 14 days prior to arrival to the Philippines will not be allowed to enter the country unless they are on repatriation flights for Filipinos, according to IATF Resolution 154-C passed on Tuesday.

Filipinos traveling from red list countries who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must then present a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

They will be placed under facility-based quarantine upon arrival, with an RT-PCR test scheduled for the seventh day. If the test result is negative, the person can finish the remaining 14 days of quarantine at home.

BI said that countries not mentioned in the green nor red lists are automatically included in the yellow list.

It added that it will be implementing the updated policy on the country’s green, yellow, and red lists.—AOL, GMA News