Covid-19: Philippines okays 7-day quarantine for vaccinated travellers

Dubai - Fully vaccinated individuals are required to carry their vaccination card while travelling to country

By IANS

Published: Fri 4 Jun 2021, 11:12 AM

Last updated: Fri 4 Jun 2021, 12:44 PM

The Philippines has eased the pandemic quarantine period from 14 days to seven days for inbound travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.

In a statement, Roque said these fully vaccinated travellers will no longer require to undergo a Covid-19 RT-PCR or swab test upon arrival, Xinhua news agency repored.

An RT-PCR test will only be carried out when the individual shows Covid-19 symptoms within the seven-day quarantine.

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Roque said the inter-agency coronavirus task force approved the new guidelines on Thursday.

"An individual shall be considered as having been fully vaccinated two or more weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series, or two or more weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine," Roque explained.

He said that a fully vaccinated individual must carry the vaccination card verified before departure.

After completing the seven-day facility-based quarantine, Roque said the quarantine bureau shall issue a quarantine certificate indicating the individual's vaccination status.

He reiterated that the Southeast Asian country only allows foreign nationals with valid and existing visas to enter.

The Philippines previously required all arriving travellers to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival and a swab test on the seventh day within the stay in a quarantine facility.

AFP