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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOT backs two-week suspension of flights from UK

DOT backs two-week suspension of flights from UK

Published Dec 23, 2020 02:17 pm

The Department of Tourism (DOT) backs the temporary suspension of flights from the United Kingdom (UK) starting December 24 until December 31 following reports of a new variant of COVID-19 spreading across Europe.

A passenger speaks with health workers before taking a Covid-19 coronavirus test upon her arrival from London at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on the outskirts of Amritsar on December 22, 2020.
(Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that ensuring public health and safety takes precedence, even as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) carefully reviews the restriction on the entry of foreign nationals into the country.

“With this temporary suspension, the DOT empathizes with the affected families who would not be able to spend the holidays with their loved ones from the UK,” she said. 

The Palace announced Wednesday that all passengers who have been in the UK within 14 days immediately preceding their arrival in the Philippines, including those merely in transit, are also temporarily restricted from entering the country during the same period.

READ MORE: PH suspends flights from UK

Passengers already in transit from the UK and all those who have been to the UK within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, who arrive before December 24, 2020, will not be subject to entry restrictions but they will be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols.

Outbound travel to the UK will likewise be subject to the existing exit protocols of the Philippines and the UK.

Aside from the Philippines, countries that imposed immediate travel bans on the UK include Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, and Germany.

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