The United States is not among the 57 countries and jurisdictions identified by the Philippines as "green" nations due to its high cases of coronavirus.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque gave the explanation after many people have made queries why the United States was excluded from the so-called "green" list.
The government task force in charge of addressing the pandemic earlier released a list of more than 50 countries and territories as "green" or with low coronavirus risk. Travelers vaccinated abroad who stayed in these green places will only be required to undergo a seven-day quarantine at a facility instead of the standard 10-day rule. Swab test will be mandatory on the fifth day in quarantine.
"Ang Estados Unidos hindi pa po kasama diyan sa tinatawag na green countries kasi mataas nga pô ang mga kaso ng COVID sa Estados Unidos ngayon (The United States is not included among the so-called green countries because of the high cases of COVID in the United States at present)," Roque said during a televised press briefing Thursday, July 1.
At present, the Delta variant of the coronavirus has reportedly been detected across the United States. The coronavirus cases in the US have surpassed 33 million with the death toll reaching more than 600,000 based on the Johns Hopkins University's global tracking report.
Roque, however, assured the public that the country's list of "green" countries can still be amended depending on the coronavirus situation of other nations.
At present, a country or territory will be included in the "green" list once it is classified by the Department of Health (DOH) as “low risk” countries based on set incidence rate of the disease.
Among the countries in the "green" list are Australia, Brunei, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. Returning passengers vaccinated abroad must present documents such as vaccine certificates to prove vaccination status and undergo the new quarantine and testing regulations.
READ: PH names China, Israel among ‘green’ or low COVID-19 risk countries