THE Philippine government on Friday approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force of the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to extend the travel restrictions on 10 countries from August 16 to August 31.
These areas are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Palace Spokesman Harry Roque, Jr. said President Rodrigo Duterte also approved the request of airlines to resume operations of international transit hubs.
“These international transit hub operations shall be limited to airside transfers between Terminals 1 and 2, and within Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and further limited for countries, jurisdictions, territories in the ‘green’ list,'” he said.
Areas in the “green” list are tagged as low-risk for Covid-19.
The Palace said protocols for the controlled movement of passengers and health and safety measures within the terminals shall be strictly imposed. Travelers who may exhibit any symptoms will be subject to isolation and quarantine protocols, “which shall be for the account of the sponsoring airlines,” according to Roque.
The IATF-EID has directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to come up with necessary measures for the issuance of appropriate visas on a case-to-case basis.