Philippines to Lift Ban on Foreigners with Valid Visas

Foreigners who have long-term visas will be allowed to enter the Philippines beginning Aug. 1, the government announced Friday, the same day the health department reported that COVID-19 cases nationwide had topped 63,000.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the country’s COVID-19 task force, approved the policy on Thursday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. Foreigners will be subject to conditions including having valid and existing visas at the time of their entry.

“This means, no new entry visa shall be accepted,” Roque said in a statement. “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.”

Those allowed entry must secure a “pre-booked accredited quarantine facility” where they would undergo testing and be monitored, he said.

Earlier this month, the government issued a resolution allowing citizens to take non-essential trips outside of the country, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency. It said travelers must meet conditions including submitted confirmed round-trip tickets for those traveling on tourist visas and travel and health insurance to cover rebooking and other expenses if necessary, including for hospitalization.

In March, the immigration bureau banned entry of foreigners because of the pandemic, allowing only Filipinos and foreign diplomats into the country.

The announcement allowing foreigners to enter came on the same day that the health department reported 1,841 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 63,001. In addition, 17 people died, bringing the death toll to 1,660.

Across Southeast Asia, Indonesia tops the list of countries with the most cases – it logged 83,130 along with 3,957 deaths as of Friday, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Globally, more than 13.8 million have been infected and more than 590,000 have died.

Lockdown threat

On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte met with his cabinet and threatened to place Metro Manila under lockdown again as the number of infections surge, even as local officials had appealed on the government during the previous two weeks to address the rising COVID-19 numbers.

“The national task force and the DILG (Interior Department) would make sure that there would be a strict lockdown or granular lockdown,” Roque said. A granular lockdown refers to closing borders or other entrances to communities that have high concentrations of infection.

“They would also make sure that minimum health standards, masks, washing of hands, social distancing, intensified tracing and quarantine along with isolation of confirmed cases be met,” he said.

Roque said all efforts were necessary as the government sought to strengthen the economy and assist the business sector, which has been battered by the pandemic.

The Metro Manila region has been under a general quarantine while the government allowed certain public functions to resume. The central city of Cebu, meanwhile, remains under a modified enhanced community quarantine.