The Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is expected to tackle the country's policy on Covid-19 border restrictions once it reconvenes in the coming weeks, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) of the IATF-EID is currently studying if the country can further ease its border restrictions related to the pandemic, said DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“Lahat pinag-aaralan ngayon even the border restrictions, pinag-aaralan na po ng mga eksperto natin para sa susunod natin na IATF meeting, we will be able to discuss this also with the other sectors (Everything is being studied now even the border restrictions, our experts are already studying this for our next IATF meeting),” said Vergeire during a press briefing.
“Titingnan natin kung base sa safety protocols natin ay pwede natin ma-ease some of those restrictions. Ito ay naipagutos na sa TWG ng IATF (We will see if based on our safety protocols, we can ease some of those restrictions. This has been instructed to the TWG of the IATF). So, we will give them maybe another two weeks, and then, we can reconvene,” she added.
Based on current protocols, any foreign national without any form of vaccination for Covid-19 is not allowed entry yet here in the Philippines, said Vergeire.
“We have relaxed restrictions already wherein kapag fully vaccinated with boosters ang foreign national, pinapapasok na po natin, wala na rin silang quarantine (if the foreign national is fully vaccinated with boosters, we let them in, they are no longer required to undergo quarantine),” added Vergeire.
“Those who are fully vaccinated but without boosters, we just require for them to have a negative RT-PCR prior to arrival, 48 hours. Kapag negative sila (If they are negative), they are not to undergo quarantine anymore,” she furthered.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. asked the DOH if it is possible to relax more restrictions and open up other sectors, said Vergeire.
“The DOH is aligned with the directives of the President but we just need to ensure that it is going to be safe for the population when we do these relaxations,” she said.