Pilipinas, nagdagdag pa ng 7 bansa sa red list dahil sa COVID-19 Omicron variant

PITONG bansa pa ang idinagdag ng Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) sa travel restrictions hanggang Disyembre 15 dahil sa umusbong na bagong COVID-19 variant Omicron.

Ang mga bansang Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium at Italy ay idinagdag red list.

Nauna nang idinagdag sa red list ang mga South African nations kabilang na ang South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini at Mozambique.

Sa isang kalatas, sinabi ni acting Presidential spokesperson at Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles na ang inbound international travel ng isa man sa kabilang sa red list countries sa loob ng 14 na araw bago pa ang pagdating sa bansa ay hindi pinapayagan kahit ano pa man ang vaccination status nito.

“Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated or non-government-initiated repatriation and Bayanihan Flights may be allowed entry subject to the prevailing entry, testing, and quarantine protocols for Red List countries, jurisdictions, or territories,” ayon kay Nograles.

“Passengers who are already in transit coming from the red list countries within 14 days prior to their arrival in the Philippines are exempted from this restriction. Upon their arrival in the country, they are required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 14 days, with testing on the 7th day,” dagdag na pahayag ni Nograles sabay sabing “Passengers who merely transited through the red list countries will also not be deemed coming from the said country if they just stayed in the airport and were not cleared for entry by the immigration authorities.”

Sa kabilang dako, inaprubahan din aniya ng IATF ang temporary suspension ng IATF Resolution No. 150-A series of 2021, kung saan ay pinapayagan ang mga fully vaccinated nationals ng non-visa required countries na bumisita sa Green List countries, territories, o jurisdictions para sa14 araw.

“The DOH was also directed to ensure health system capacity is prepared to address increase of COVID-19 cases, if any, while the Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics is directed to begin preparing models to show potential impact of the Omicron variant to prevailing protocols and approvals of the IATF,” lahad ni Nograles.

Samantala, inatasan naman ang Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units na pangasiwaan ang target na selection of samples para sa sequencing at pagtugon sa bumababang submissions of laboratories and regions mula sa domestic at international travelers.

Pinangalanan naman ng World Health Organization (WHO) ang kamakailan lamang na nadiskubreng B.1.1.529 variant Omicron, unang natuklasan sa South Africa.

“With Omicron designated as a Variant of Concern, the IATF likewise approved the recommendations to strengthen local COVID-19 response. This includes, strongly enjoining the local government units to heighten their alert for increasing and clustering of cases and emphasizing the need for active case finding; to immediately conduct contact tracing and isolation of cases detected from case surveillance among the community, including domestic and international travelers; and to use RT-PCR testing in order to allow for whole-genome sequencing of collected samples, ayon kay Nograles.

Magsasanib-puwersa naman ang Bureau of Quarantine, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), at LGUs para kilalanin at hanapin ang mga pasaherong dumating sa loob ng 14 araw bago pa mag-araw ng Lunes mula sa red list countries, at i- require ang mga ito na kompletuhin ang quarantine sa ilalim ng home quarantine set-up para sa 14 araw mula sa petsa ng pagdating at sumailalim sa RT-PCR kapag nag-develop ang sintomas.

Ang Hong Kong, kung saan may natuklasan ding Omicron variant ay hindi kasama sa updated red list.

Nauna nang inirekomenda ng Department of Health  na i-ban ang inbound flights mula sa nasabing teritoryo araw ng Sabado.

“Inbound international travelers coming from Hong Kong shall comply with the testing and quarantine protocols for Yellow list countries,” ayon kay Nograles.

Inaprubahan naman ng IATF ang temporary suspension ng testing at quarantine protocols para sa green list countries hanggang Disyembre 15. (Daris Jose)