COVID Guidelines for Non Phillipines

 

Effective January 26, 2021, all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel. Alternatively, travelers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. Check the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for additional information and Frequently Asked Questions.

Country-Specific Information:

A ban on non-Philippine citizens arriving from countries officially reporting cases of the new COVID-19 variant remains in effect through January 31, 2021. Under the travel ban, passengers arriving from the United States and more than 30 other countries will not be allowed to enter the Philippines. Please see the Philippine Presidential Communication Operations Office website for more information.

Non-Philippine citizens transiting one of the listed countries may be allowed to enter, as determined by Philippine government authorities at the port of entry. Additional information and advisories are available on the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) website. If you receive an error message while trying to access this page, please visit BI’s Facebook page. All arriving passengers remain subject to guidelines set by the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force Against Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Resolution No. 95.

According to the Philippine government, the following quarantine classifications will remain in effect through January 31, 2021:

General Community Quarantine (GCQ):

Luzon – National Capital Region, Santiago City in Isabela, and province of Batangas.

Visayas –Tacloban City; and

Mindanao – Iligan City, Lanao del Sur, Davao City, and Davao del Norte.

All other areas are under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

For quarantine classification protocols and regulations, visit the Philippine COVID-19 website. The Philippine government mandated all persons to wear full-coverage face shields together with face masks while in public places. Local governments continue to implement additional requirements to slow the virus’ spread.

 

COVID-19 Testing:

Are PCR and/or antigen tests available for U.S. citizens in the Philippines? Yes.

Real-Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) and antigen (rapid) testing are readily available throughout the country, including at Philippine Department of Health (DOH) accredited testing centers. In general, payment is in cash only by the U.S. citizen prior to testing. Costs vary according to the test given and the medical facility.

Are test results reliably available within 72 hours? Yes.

Test results often are available within 30 minutes for antigen (rapid) test and up to five days for rRT-PCR test, and may be sent via email or obtained through the medical facility’s online patient portal.

 

COVID-19 Vaccine Information:

Has the Government of the Philippines approved a COVID-19 vaccine for use? Yes. 

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authorization of Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the Philippines. At this time, only the Philippine government is authorized to procure and administer vaccines. The Philippine government is currently in the advanced stages of negotiations with various vaccine manufacturers and expects the first vaccine supply to arrive in the first quarter of 2021.

The U.S. government does not plan to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to private U.S. citizens overseas. Please follow host country developments and guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination. U.S. Veterans currently receiving healthcare benefits from the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic will continue to receive e-mail updates about COVID-19 vaccinations directly from the VA Clinic.