The Philippines is prohibiting the entry of travelers from eight areas included in the Red List from Jan. 1 to 15 as it guards against the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant that has been confirmed in the country.
The travel ban excludes Filipinos returning to the Philippines via government or private repatriation efforts, Cabinet Sec. Karlo Nograles said.
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Here are the travel classifications as approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 Response:
Red List (high risk)
- Eswatini
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Spain
Green List (low risk)
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- British Virgin Islands
- China (Mainland)
- Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
- Fiji
- The Gambia
- Guinea
- Hong Kong (Chinese Special Administrative Region)
- Indonesia
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Liberia
- Montserrat
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Paraguay
- Rwanda
- Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Saint Barthelemy
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Sint Eustatius
- Taiwan
- Timor-Leste (East Timor)
- Togo
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
Yellow List (moderate risk)
- All other countries, territories, jurisdictions not listed above
Upon recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the country now recognizes the national COVID-19 vaccination certificates of Armenia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Kuwait, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America and Oman.
"This is in addition to such other countries, territories, or jurisdictions whose proofs of vaccination the IATF already approved for recognition in the Philippines, and without prejudice to such other proofs of vaccination approved by the IATF for all inbound travelers," Nograles said, noting authorities only recognize proofs of vaccination approved by the IATF.