Starting August 20, all Filipinos, Chinese nationals, and foreigners traveling to China from the Philippines will be required to present a negative test result for COVID-19 prior to their flights.

In an advisory, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said all passengers inbound China from Philippine airports must “take nucleic acid tests for COVID-19” and get “Nucleic Acid Test Certificates with a negative result within 120 hours prior to boarding flights.”

The embassy has designated health institutions where passengers can take the nucleic tests.

Passengers traveling to China shall likewise fill in and sign a health declaration form which can be downloaded from the embassy’s website.

The embassy said the health declaration form will be valid for five days starting from the “issuing date of the Nucleic Acid Test Certificates from designated institutions.”

“ shall be issued by the Chinese Embassy or the Consulates and sent back to the applicants by email,” the embassy said.

“It shall take at least one working day for the verification by the Chinese Embassy or the Consulates,” it added.

Scanned copies of the health declaration form and the test result, along with photocopies of the front page of the passport, must be submitted to the Chinese Embassy or Consulates, according to the location of the testing institutions, by email.

The embassy said passengers are also required to present a print-out copy of the health declaration form during check-in or prior to boarding the plane.

“Passengers with expired Health Declaration Forms won't be allowed to board and are required to conduct new Nucleic Acid Tests as well as applying for new Health Declaration Forms,” the embassy said.

Foreign passengers bound for China via connecting or transfer flight will also be required to show a valid, non-expired health declaration form during transfer.

The embassy warned passengers who will present false certificates or information of “corresponding legal liabilities."