Starting Aug. 1, foreign nationals holding valid and existing visas will be allowed to enter the country.
This was announced by Malacañang on July 17, and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque listed the conditions set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for this recent easing of lockdown restriction.
“They must first have valid and existing visas at the time of the entry. This means no new entry visa shall be accepted,” said Roque in a statement.
Additionally, foreign nationals seeking to enter the country are required to secure pre-bookings in an accredited quarantine facility and COVID-19 testing provider.
“They are likewise subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry, as returning overseas Filipinos will be given priority,” he added.
Last week, Malacañang also announced the lifting of travel restrictions on non-essential outbound travel for Filipinos. This includes allowing trips for tourism purposes, which are still, however, subject to the conditions set by IATF.
These conditions include submitting confirmed roundtrip tickets for those traveling on tourist visas, having adequate travel health insurance to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses and providing a declaration acknowledging travel risks. Those going out of the country must also ensure that their destinations will allow their entry in accordance with its own travel, health and quarantine restrictions.
Before this restriction was lifted, outbound travel for Filipinos was not allowed, except for overseas Filipino workers and permanent residents or student visa holders going to their country of destination.
As of July 16, the World Health Organization reported that there are 13,378,853 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including 580,045 deaths. America leads the count with over seven million cases, followed by Europe with two million. Meanwhile, both Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions have recorded over one million confirmed COVID-19 cases already.
Header photo by Lyn Rillon for Inquirer.net
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