Malacañang announced that Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, and Slovenia have been added to the so-called red list countries, prohibiting travelers from the said nations to enter the Philippines starting Sept. 19, 2021.

PIXABAY/ MANILA BULLETIN

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the announcement amid the rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country.

In a statement on Friday morning, Sept. 17, Roque said the ban on the entry of travelers from the said four countries will last until Sept. 30, 2021.

Before this, the government has identified nine countries as red list. They are as follows:

Azerbaijan
Guadeloupe
Guam
Israel
Kosovo
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Saint Lucia
Switzerland

The Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has classified red list countries/jurisdictions/territories as "high risk" based on the following metrics

For populations greater than 100,000 the incidence rate shall be more than 500
For populations less than 100,000, the COVID-19 case counts shall be more than 500, and the testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population

Inbound international travelers, 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.

Green and yellow Lists

The IATF has also updated the green list countries:

American Samoa
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Cayman Islands
Chad
China
Comoros
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Gabon
Hong Kong
Hungary
Madagascar
Mali
Federated States of Micronesia
Montserrat
New Caledonia
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
Tajikstan
Tanzania
Tokelau
Tonga
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Yemen

Meanwhile, countries, jurisdictions, and territories not included on the red or green lists are placed on the "yellow list".

The IATF classified yellow list countries/jurisdictions/ territories as "moderate risk" based on the following metrics:

For populations greater than 100,000, the incidence rate shall be 50 to 500
For populations less than 100,000, the COVID-19 case counts shall be 50 to 500; and the testing rate of tests over the past 28 days per 100,000 population

Inbound international travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or with travel history within the last 14 days prior to their arrival in the Philippines from yellow list states shall be governed by entry, testing, and quarantine protocols.

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