The government has included Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the countries covered through its ban similar to the Indian coVID-19 variant.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the ban would affect others with backgrounds from the two Middle Eastern countries in the 14 days before their arrival in the Philippines from May 15 to 31, 2021.
Roque stated that the restriction would not apply to passengers already in transit from those countries and to all those who visited before 15 May 2021.
They will still have to undergo stricter testing and quarantine protocols, adding about 44 days at the facility on arrival, despite a negative result of opposite transcription: polymer chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Roque stated that the Interagency Working Group on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) adopted the resolution with the advice of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It stated that IATF also had to increase the restriction on passengers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka until 31 May 2021.
“The Transport Decomposer deserves to ensure that airlines are required not to allow the boarding of passengers who are prohibited from entering the country under restrictions imposed through the Office of the President and IATF resolutions, unless they are part of the national government’s repatriation efforts,” Roque said.