The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Thursday, June 3, 2021, approved to place Davao City under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine beginning June 5 until June 20, 2021.
The IATF likewise approved the General Community Quarantine status of General Santos City starting June 5 until June 30, 2021.
On the request of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the IATF provisionally approved the conduct of professional licensure examinations for July to September 2021, subject to conditions, such as PRC’s health and safety protocols and the observance of minimum public health standards, the issuance of the PRC-DOH-PNP guidelines, and the community quarantine classification of the concerned areas.
Meanwhile, the IATF approved the guidelines on inbound international travel to any port of the Philippines of all fully vaccinated individuals who have been inoculated in the Philippines. An individual shall be considered as having been fully vaccinated two or more weeks after receiving the second dose in a 2-dose series, or two or more weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.
A fully vaccinated individual must carry his or her vaccination card, which must be verified prior to departure, and must be presented to a Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) representative for re-verification at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) One-Stop Shop upon arrival in the Philippines.
All inbound fully vaccinated individuals shall be required to undergo a 7-day facility-based quarantine upon arrival. The BOQ shall ensure strict symptom monitoring while in the quarantine facility for 7 days.
RT-PCR test shall only be done when the individual manifests COVID-19 symptoms within the 7-day quarantine. After completing the 7-day facility-based quarantine, the BOQ shall issue a Quarantine Certificate indicating the individual’s vaccination status.
Related to this, the IATF directed the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Finance, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Economic and Development Authority to convene and provide recommendations to further relax testing and quarantine protocols for certain classes of travelers.
Meanwhile, apart from the repatriation programs of the Philippine government, the IATF exempted non-Philippine government repatriation efforts to the entry restrictions imposed on travelers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
In case of Philippine government-organized repatriation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration shall conduct prior coordination with each other, and with the DOH-BOQ, DOTr and its One-Stop Shop and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 Task Group for the Management of Returning Overseas Filipinos, at least 48 hours prior to the departure from the country of origin.
In the case of non-Philippine government repatriation, all Filipino repatriates from the countries with travel restrictions must present a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to boarding the aircraft or vessel. The airline or the shipping line is responsible to check on this requirement. A copy of the negative RT-PCR test result of the repatriate shall be submitted to the BOQ upon arrival in the port of entry in the Philippines.
Moreover, prior approval from the BOQ is needed for the entry of flight or vessel carrying Filipino repatriates prior to its movement from point of origin. In this connection, the concerned local manning agency (in the case of seafarers), the Philippine recruitment agency (for land-based workers), or the sponsoring Philippine government agency shall submit an exemption request to the DOH-BOQ, the approval of which is tantamount to IATF’s approval on the repatriation effort.
The IATF likewise required all repatriates from countries with travel restrictions in effect to be placed on a strict 14-day facility-based quarantine from the date of arrival in the Philippines, with the date of arrival being the first day.
On another matter, the IATF allowed foreign nationals holding Special Resident Retiree’s Visa to enter the Philippines without the need of an entry exemption document.
Finally, the IATF allowed the Philippine Racing Commission two additional racing days beginning July 1, 2021, subject to approved health and safety protocols and the use of fully functional contact tracing application/s of off-track betting stations. ###
