The Department of Health (DOH) said it is recommending that Filipinos, who were fully vaccinated abroad, not to undergo a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test upon their arrival in the Philippines.
“Ganyan din po ang ating irerekomenda for those vaccinated abroad na mga Pilipino na babalik dito. Pero hindi pa ho natin iyan napa-finalize kasi we need means of verification of their vaccine status or vaccination cards (We will also recommend the same for those Filipinos vaccinated abroad---who will return here. But we haven't finalized that yet because we need means of verification of their vaccine status or vaccination cards),” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday, June 18.
Vergeire said that they are proposing that those Filipinos vaccinated abroad must undergo quarantine in a facility for a period of seven days.
“Ito pong pagte-test ay mahalaga kasama ng ating response pero kung ikaw ay bakunado na rin naman po, ito na yung ating sinasabi na pwede naman basta naka quarantine muna ng pitong araw (The testing is important along with our response but if you are already vaccinated, you may not undergo testing as long as you are quarantined for seven days),” she said.
This policy is also the same for overseas returning Filipinos who were fully vaccinated in the Philippines. The individual will undergo an Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test if ever he or she showed symptoms of COVID-19 within the seven-day quarantine period.
Related Story: IATF orders strict enforcement of health protocols for inbound int’l travelers
Vergeire said that the loosening of travel requirements for fully vaccinated Filipinos should be done in a gradual manner.
“We should be cautious... Unti-unti ang pagluwag para sa mga fully vaccinated until we can reach that coverage na pwede na natin masabi na magiging safe ang ating mga kababayan kapag hindi na natin sila kina-quarantine at tinetest (We should be cautious ... The easing of requirements must be gradual for the fully vaccinated--- until we can reach that coverage that we can say that our countrymen will be safe even if we no longer quarantine or test them),” said Vergeire.