14 states, jurisdictions removed from PH ‘green’ list

 By Ruth Abbey Gita-

MANILA – At least 14 countries and jurisdictions have been removed from the Philippines’ “green” list, Malacañang said on Friday.

The latest development came after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved Thursday the updated list of “green” countries and jurisdictions classified as “low-risk” for the coronavirus disease 2019, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.

“The Inter-Agency Task Force on Thursday, August 12, 2021, approved and updated the list of considered ‘Green’ countries/jurisdictions/territories,” said Roque, who concurrently acts as IATF-EID spokesperson.

Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Dominica, Kosovo, Laos, Marshall Islands, Moldova, North Macedonia, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy, Singapore, Sint Eustatius, and Togo have been removed, based on the revised roster of “green” states and jurisdictions.

On the other hand, Cameroon and Sudan have been added to the updated list.

The countries and jurisdictions included in the new “green” roster are as follows:

Albania

American Samoa

Anguilla

Australia

Benin

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brunei

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Cayman Islands

Chad

China

Comoros

Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

Falkland Islands

Gabon

Grenada

Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)

Hungary

Mali

Federated States of Micronesia

Montserrat (British Overseas Territory)

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Niger

Nigeria

Northern Mariana Islands

Palau

Poland

Romania

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Slovakia

Sudan

Taiwan

The Department of Health has classified the “green” states and jurisdictions as “low-risk countries or jurisdictions based on disease incidence rate.”

The IATF-EID, in its Resolution 128-A issued on July 22, has modified the protocols for fully-vaccinated individuals who can qualify for “green lanes”.

Under IATF-EID Resolution 128-A, fully-vaccinated individuals who can avail of green lanes must meet the four conditions set by the task force to allow them to observe a shorter quarantine period of seven days in an isolation facility.

The arriving passengers must make sure that their port of origin is a “green” country or jurisdiction and they stayed there exclusively in the past 14 days before arriving in the Philippines.

They must also be fully vaccinated, whether in the Philippines or abroad, and their vaccination status can be independently verified by Philippine authorities as valid and authentic upon their arrival in the country.

Fully vaccinated individuals who will be given green lanes are mandated to take a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on their fifth day in the country.

Even if they yield a negative RT-PCR test, they are still required to complete the seven-day facility-based quarantine. If the RT-PCR test is, however, positive, prescribed isolation protocols must be followed. (PNA)