MANILA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines will block "foreign passengers" from the United States starting Sunday following the detection of the new and more infectious coronavirus variant in that country, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.
"Foreign passengers coming from the U.S., or who have been to the U.S. within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines shall be prohibited from entering the country effective 12:01 a.m. Manila time of January 3, 2021, until January 15, 2021," Roque said in a statement.
He said foreign passengers coming from the U.S., or who have been to the U.S. within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines arriving before 12:01 a.m. on January 3, 2021, will be allowed to enter the Philippines.
However, Roque said those passengers will be required to undergo "an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period," even if their coronavirus tests show negative results.
Roque said Filipino citizens coming from the U.S., or who have been to the U.S., within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, including those arriving after January 3, 2021, will be allowed to enter the Philippines.
The U.S. is the 21st place the Philippines has imposed a temporary 14-day entry ban on flights and foreign passengers to prevent the spread of the new strain.
The Philippines initially imposed a temporary entry ban on flights and foreign passengers coming from Britain, where the new variant was found, to the Philippines starting Dec. 24 until Dec. 31.
The government extended the ban to Jan. 15 and included 19 other countries and regions with the reported new strain.
The Philippines now has 475,820 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 9,248 deaths. Enditem
