The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that passengers coming from seven adjoining European states will no be allowed to enter the country as part of the government's efforts to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the travel restriction imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) were in addition to seven other neighboring countries in Africa where the fast spreading COVID-19 variant was first detected.
This brought to 14 the number countries placed under the so-called Red List due to Omicron which ban started last Sunday until Dec.15.
The latest batch are Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy.
"Those coming from Red List countries within the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter the country," Morente said.
He said that Filipinos are not covered by the ban, but subject to.health protocols set by the Bureau of Quarantine.
He reminded airline companies not to board inadmissible passengers to avoid facing sanctions.