The government's pandemic task force has updated its testing and quarantine protocols for individuals coming from countries, territories, and jurisdictions placed under the green and yellow lists.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said that the new protocols set by the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will be effective on October 8.
Based on the updated guidelines, fully vaccinated individuals coming from green or yellow list countries need to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing taken on the fifth day.
They shall then be required to undergo home quarantine until their 10th day, with the day of arrival as their first day.
On the other hand, unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be independently verified or confirmed as valid or authentic by our authorities coming from the said lists of countries shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their RT-PCR testing taken on the seventh day.
They shall then be required to undergo home quarantine until their 14th day, with the day of arrival as their first day.
For both instances, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) shall ensure strict symptom monitoring while the individuals are in the facility.
Meanwhile, foreign nationals shall be required to secure their own pre-booked accommodation of at least six days for the fully vaccinated; and at least eight days for the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be independently confirmed by local authorities.
Documents accepted to verify/confirm the vaccination status include:
- Certification from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the country of origin for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their spouses, parents, and/or children traveling with them
- VaxCertPH digital vaccination certificate or BOQ-issued International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV) for Filipinos or foreigners fully vaccinated in the Philippines
- National digital certificate of the foreign government which accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement or BOQ-issued ICV for non-OFWs and foreigners fully vaccinated abroad.
As of October 1, Bermuda is the only country placed on the country's red list. This list is for countries considered as "high risk" based on the rate of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.
The following are placed under the green list until October 15:
- 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
- Yemen
Countries, territories, and jurisdictions not mentioned are under the yellow list and considered as "moderate risk".