Last month, authorities suspended all flights from the United Kingdom, a ban that later included 20 other countries and territories: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 8) — The Philippine government expanded the ongoing travel ban to include Austria, after the new COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa was detected there, Malacañang announced on Friday.
Starting Jan. 10 until Jan. 15, foreign travelers coming from or who have been to Austria within 14 days before arriving in the Philippines will be barred from entering the country, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
Those who will be arriving before Jan. 10 — both foreign passengers and Filipino citizens — may still be allowed to enter but will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period even with a negative RT-PCR test, Roque added.
The variant that originated in South Africa and another found in the UK are believed to be more contagious, prompting travel bans and widespread concern across the world. Both mutations have not yet been detected in the Philippines.
The government later added Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan, and Brazil to the list as more countries reported infections with the new COVID-19 variants. There are no restrictions on outbound travel, but that would depend on the rules of country destinations.
