The Philippines will ban travelers who were recently in the United States from Sunday, after a third state confirmed a COVID-19 case with the new strain, which experts say is more contagious.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said foreigners who have been to the United States for the past 14 days will be denied entry, according to a statement obtained by Reuters.
The travel ban, in addition to other restrictions announced for 19 countries and territories on Tuesday, is scheduled to run until January 15. US travelers arriving before January 3 can enter the country, provided they are quarantined for 14 days.
The Philippines decided to add the United States to the list after the country’s health and foreign affairs department suggested doing so, said Roque, according to Reuters.
Filipinos returning from the United States will not be prohibited from entering the country, but will also have to do a 14-day quarantine at a government facility.
The new strain of the virus, called B.1.1.7, was first located in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to several other countries, including the USA
Florida became the third state to confirm a case with the new variant on New Year’s Eve, with Colorado and California previously announcing cases earlier this week.
Health experts said they believe the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective against the variant, but more testing is needed to confirm this.
The strain has not yet reached the Philippines, which has recorded more than 475,000 cases of COVID-19 and 9,248 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.