THE United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning individuals against traveling to the Philippines, citing the “very high level” of COVID-19 in the country.
The CDC on Monday, January 31 updated its guidance for countries, with the Philippines listed in the Level 4 tier, the highest COVID-19 risk level.
Travelers are advised to “avoid travel to the Philippines” amid the current virus surge. Though the agency said that if individuals must travel to the country, they should ensure they are vaccinated.
“Even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you may still be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19,” the CDC said on its website.
The CDC also reminds travelers to wear well-fitting masks in indoor public spaces and follow all requirements and recommendations in the Philippines.
As of January 31, the Philippines reported 190,818 active cases with 14,546 marked as new cases.
The CDC uses travel health notices to alert to health threats around the world and advise on how to protect themselves, using data reported by the World Health Organization and other official sources.
“If a destination does not provide data, their THN level is designated as ‘unknown’ and travelers are advised to follow THN Level 4 recommendations,” according to the CDC website.
The Philippines is among nearly 130 countries and territories listed as a Level 4 risk, including Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo and Paraguay.
The four-level system categories international destinations into the following levels:
- Level 1 (low): travelers are advised to be fully vaccinated before traveling to the destination
- Level 2 (moderate): travelers should be fully vaccinated before travel and unvaccinated travelers at high risk for severe illness are advised to avoid nonessential travel to this destination
- Level 3 (high): travelers are advised to be fully vaccinated before traveling to the destination and unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to this destination
- Level 4 (very high level): avoid travel to this destination
Meanwhile, as of Tuesday, February 1, the Philippines is suspending its risk classification for countries and is allowing fully vaccinated Filipinos to return without going through mandatory quarantine at a facility.
By February 10, fully vaccinated foreigners from visa-free countries will be allowed to enter the Philippines for tourism or business purposes.
Both fully vaccinated Filipinos and foreigners will need to provide a negative RT-PCR test within 48 hours before they depart for the Philippines. n
