Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 12) — The government will study the proposal to lift the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated travelers, an official of the Department of Health said on Friday.
Currently, only fully vaccinated travelers from “green” countries and territories, or those tagged as low risk for COVID-19, are exempt from quarantine upon arrival in the Philippines.
“Ito’y pinag-uusapan na. Actually, this was part of the discussion in the Inter-Agency Task Force (meeting) yesterday. Ito ay further na pinapaaral sa atin ng IATF officials para makita natin talaga ang mga pros and cons based on scientific evidence,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media briefing when asked about Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion’s pitch.
[Translation: This is already being discussed. Actually, this was part of the discussion in the IATF meeting yesterday. IATF officials asked us to study this further, so we can see its pros and cons based on scientific evidence.]
The recommendation may be out in the coming weeks, she added.
Concepcion on Thursday pushed for “zero quarantine” for fully vaccinated travelers. He has proposed to have them undergo two COVID-19 tests — 48 hours prior to departure and then upon arrival — in lieu of quarantine.
Concepcion said his proposal would help the ailing airline industry recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
