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BI to implement 2-week ban on travelers coming from India

Philippines | National

BI to implement 2-week ban on travelers coming from India

By Jun Ramirez

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at International ports are preparing to impose travel restrictions on passengers coming from India starting Thursday midnight, April 29, following the discovery of a fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant that has been causing an unprecedented surge of infections in the foreign country.

(Photo from BI Facebook page)

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said they received a copy of the resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which spelled out the order to bar the entry of travelers coming from India between April 29 and May 14.

Included in the ban are those with a travel history to India within the last 14 days.

“The IATF deems that this proactive restriction must be put in place to stop further spread of the new virus variant," he added.

BI port operations chief Carlos Capulong clarified that the travel ban is not ‘nationality-specific’ and applies to any traveler coming from that country.

“We are conducting 100 percent passport inspection to determine the travel history of an arriving person,” said Capulong.

Should they discover that the traveler has been to India within the last 14 days, he or she will be excluded and boarded on the next available flight back to the port of origin.

However, Capulong said they are not expecting incoming passengers from India as the IATF resolution clearly stated that airlines are directed not to allow the boarding of passengers pursuant to travel restrictions.

“Passengers already in transit who will arrive before April 29 may be allowed, but will be referred to the appropriate agencies for stricter quarantine and testing protocols, to be subjected to an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period,” Capulong stated.

Related Tags

covid-19 BI immigration morente ports

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