The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has updated its red, yellow, and green list countries or territories for the period of Oct. 1 to 15, 2021 in relation to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
A statement from Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who doubles as IATF mouthpiece, revealed that only one country remains on the red list.
"Bermuda is the only country the red list, while there are 49 countries the green list," Roque said last Thursday night, Sept. 30.
Countries on the green list are the following: American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
"All other countries, territories, or jurisdictions that have not been mentioned are on the yellow list," Roque said.
Green list nations and jurisdictions are classified as "low risk" based on COVID-19 incidence rate and case count. Red list nations are the opposite, meaning they are "high risk" based on the same metrics.
Meanwhile, countries, jurisdictions, and territories not included on the red or green lists are placed on the yellow list, or places tagged as moderate risk based on COVID-19 incidence rate and case count.
Inbound international travelers from red list countries--regardless of their vaccination status--shall not be allowed to enter the Philippines. Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation, and Bayanihan flights may be allowed entry, subject to entry, testing, and quarantine protocols.
As for inbound international travelers with travel history within the last 14 days in yellow states prior to their arrival in the Philippines, they shall be governed by entry, testing, and quarantine protocols in the country.
"Lastly, the IATF recognizes the jurisdiction and mandate of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) over air rights agreements in the Philippines and poses no objection to the proposal of the Airline Operators Council for triangulated international arrival flights to different gateways, which the CAB may approve on a per airline basis," Roque said in the same statement.