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DOH studying eased quarantine protocols for international arrivals

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Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Passengers check in for a flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on January 3, 2022 amid Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/01/22/20220103-covid-airport-travellers-md-16.jpg"/><figcaption>Passengers check in for a flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on January 3, 2022 amid Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA— The health department is looking into the possibility of easing quarantine restrictions for international arrivals, following the suggestion of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s economic adviser. </p><p>In a public briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire allayed the public&#x27;s concerns should the proposal push through.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/20/22/palace-adviser-seeks-looser-intl-travel-protocols">Palace adviser bats for antigen tests, home quarantine for international arrivals</a></li></ul><p>The proposal they received, Vergeire said, states that quarantine and isolation for incoming travelers would be reduced or removed completely. </p><p>&quot;Mayroon pa po tayong safeguards, layers of protection na atin pong aasahan kung saka-sakaling aalisin na o tatanggalin ang control sa ating borders,&quot; Vergeire explained. </p><p>(We have safeguards and layers of protection that we can expect should we remove completely our control in our borders.)</p><p>&quot;Isa po ito sa naipag-utos ng IATF na pag-aralan itong proposal na ito, so we are now studying this together with our experts kung ano ang tamang rekomendasyon na maibibigay natin,&quot; she added. </p><p>(This is one of the things that the IATF asked us to study. So we are now studying it with our experts so we could come up with a recommendation.)</p><p>Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion earlier said this is needed to help the airline and travel industry.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/doh-calls-for-shortened-isolation-requirements">DOH calls for shortened isolation requirements; testing only needed for symptomatic people</a></li></ul><p>Concepcion said the US does not require specifically the use of RT-PCR tests or facility quarantines for arriving passengers. </p><p>Inbound passengers to the US only need a negative result from an antiviral test, not necessarily an RT-PCR, taken no more than 24 hours before departure. </p><p>Some arriving passengers in the country though have tested positive for COVID-19 during their quarantine period in hotels. </p><p>The Philippines is currently battling a fresh wave of new COVID-19 infections most likely driven by the more transmissible omicron variant. </p><p>On Saturday, the DOH confirmed 30,552 more infections, raising the country&#x27;s active cases to more than 280,000. </p><p>ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido said the day&#x27;s tally is the 10th highest since the pandemic began. </p><div><strong>— With a report from Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1902534" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar"><em>Video from PTV</em></div><div> </div><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="_/XwlOyN6W2yUc4AnE9xPq" data-title="COVID-19 cases - 1" data-type="interactive"> </div><script type="text/javascript">!function(e,i,n,s){var t='InfogramEmbeds',d=e.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement('script');o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src='https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js',d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,'infogram-async');</script>

In a public briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire allayed the public's concerns should the proposal push through.

DOH studying eased quarantine protocols for international arrivals

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DOH studying eased quarantine protocols for international arrivals

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 22, 2022 05:01 PM PHT

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coronavirus

COVID-19

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Department of Health

international travels

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