Philippines reopens to foreign travellers after 2-year Covid ban

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Philippines reopens to foreign travellers after 2-year Covid ban

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Philippines reopens to foreign travellers after 2-year Covid ban

by Kyodo News

10 February, 2022

The Philippines on Thursday reopened its borders to foreign tourists, lifting a two-year ban implemented to keep local Covid-19 cases under control.

Easing border restrictions to fully vaccinated foreigners from 157 countries with visa-free arrangements with the Philippines marks the beginning of the "next chapter in the road to recovery," Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

The Southeast Asian country, popular for its tropical beach resorts, saw visitor arrivals plunge 82% between 2019 and 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said tourists now only have to present documents such as proof of vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test result.

The Philippine bureau of immigration expected around 7,000 arrivals on Thursday alone and hoped for that number to reach 10,000 to 12,000 daily in the following months.

The Philippines initially planned to accept inbound foreign travellers from December but the plan was pushed back due to the surge of coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Philippine Airlines welcomed the government's move, assuring its passengers of safety onboard through air filters and a fully vaccinated cabin crew.

Airline spokesperson Cielo Villaluna told Kyodo News the nation's flag carrier used to have about 300 flights daily, but this has been reduced to around 140 daily since the pandemic began.

The Tourism Department said over 349,000 workers in the Philippines rely on tourism. The Philippines' top tourist markets are visitors from South Korea, the United States, China, and Japan.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/22620 ... -covid-ban
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The Philippines welcomes back foreign travelers after nearly 2 years

by The Associated Press

February 10, 2022

The Philippines lifted a nearly 2-year ban on foreign travelers Thursday in a lifesaving boost for its tourism and related industries as an omicron-fueled surge eases.

Foreign travelers from 157 countries with visa-free arrangements with the Philippines who have been fully vaccinated and tested negative for the virus will be welcomed back and will no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival. The government also ended a risk classification system that banned travelers from the worst-hit countries.

"We will begin the next chapter in the road to recovery," Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said. She added the border reopening would restore jobs and generate revenue across tourism-related enterprises and communities.

The Philippines imposed one of the world's longest lockdowns and strictest police-enforced quarantine restrictions to quell a pandemic that caused its worst economic recession since the 1940s and pushed unemployment and hunger to record levels.

More than a million Filipinos lost their jobs in tourism businesses and destinations in the first year of the pandemic alone, according to government statistics. Tourism destinations, including popular beach and tropical island resorts, resembled ghost towns at the height of pandemic lockdowns, and a volcanic eruption and typhoons exacerbated losses.

The reopening had been set for Dec. 1 but was postponed as the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus spread.

Less than a thousand new cases were added daily during the Christmas holidays, when large crowds of shoppers trooped back to malls and restaurants despite constant government warnings. The subsequent surge peaked above 39,000 infections in a day in mid-January, but has since eased. Health officials reported about 3,600 infections on Wednesday, with 69 deaths and have declared the entire archipelago, except for one southern region, at "low to moderate risk."

More than 60 million of nearly 110 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and 8.2 million have received their booster shots in a campaign that has been hampered by vaccine shortages and public hesitancy.

President Rodrigo Duterte warned Filipinos in televised remarks Monday that "we are not over the hump" and urged the unvaccinated to get immunized soon.

"If you're unvaccinated and you die, well, I'll tell you, 'good riddance,'" the tough-talking president said. "You can walk around and if you get contaminated, you will be awfully very, very sorry for yourself and your family."

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/10797842 ... er-2-years
Jun

Re: Philippines reopens to foreign travellers after 2-year Covid ban

Post by Jun »

Kyodo News wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:53 pm."If you're unvaccinated and you die, well, I'll tell you, 'good riddance,'" the tough-talking president said. "You can walk around and if you get contaminated, you will be awfully very, very sorry for yourself and your family."
I lose zero sleep over all the anti-vaxxers who die, but wouldn't be quite as undiplomatic as that !

The Philippines will be interesting when we can go there with no covid testing.
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Re: Philippines reopens to foreign travellers after 2-year Covid ban

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Fri Feb 11, 2022 12:14 pm wouldn't be quite as undiplomatic as that !
If Trump can, Duterte can.

He is not known for speaking diplomatically or being politically correct.

Neither is Duterte . . .
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