Manila Bulletin
PH suspends flights from South Africa, 6 other countries due to new COVID-19 variant
The Philippines has imposed an immediate travel ban on travelers from South Africa and six other African countries due to the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.529.
Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles announced on Friday night, November 26, that the flight suspension is effective immediately until December 15.
The seven countries from which travel to the Philippines is barred are South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique.
Nograles clarified on Saturday, November 27, that the restrictions on all seven countries take effect immediately, superseding earlier classifications.
Travelers arriving from these countries within the 14 days prior to the ban will be subject to stricter quarantine and testing protocols.
The measure aims to prevent the entry and spread of the new COVID-19 variant into the Philippines.
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News Sources
See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
The Philippine government has removed South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe from its green list, indicating a shift in COVID-19 risk assessment for these nations.
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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has temporarily barred travelers from seven African countries starting November 28, 2021, to prevent the entry of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant.
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An OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David expressed serious concern over the new COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.529, detected in South Africa.
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The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 clarified that inbound flights from Hong Kong are still allowed, pending a final recommendation from the Technical Working Group and a decision from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
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The government has expanded the travel ban to include 14 countries due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
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