Vaccine certificates of at least 26 more countries and territories also recently approved for acceptance
(Eagle News) – The Philippines is recognizing the Covid-19 vaccine certificates of eight more countries, Malacanang announced on Monday, February 21. The following countries are Egypt, Maldives, Palau, Albania, Estonia, Greece, Malta and Uruguay.
In a statement, Malacanang said that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) “approved the acceptance and recognition” of the vaccination certificates of these additional eight countries “for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols, as well as for interzonal/intrazonal movement.”
The IATF made the decision on Sunday, February 20.
Before this, the Palace also announced on Friday, February 18, that the IATF had also approved the acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccination certificates of 15 countries: Argentina, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Azerbaijan, Macau SAR, and Syria.
Earlier, the IATF had also approved the vaccine certificates of Malaysia, Ireland, Slovenia, Bahrain, Qatar, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Brazil, Israel, South Korea, and Timor Leste.
The move to accept the Covid-19 vaccine certificates of more countries came about with the decision of the Philippine government to allow the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from visa-free countries.
-Full vaccination requirement for entering foreign nationals-
Foreign nationals are required to be fully vaccinated and possess acceptable proof of vaccination, except only for minor children below twelve years of age travelling with their fully-vaccinated parents.
They must also present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to date and time of departure from country of origin or first port of embarkation in a continuous travel to the Philippines excluding lay-overs. They must not have also left the airport premises or admitted into another country during such lay-over.
Previously, the Philippine government said it is accepting as proofs of vaccination the following: the World Health Organization international certificate of vaccination and prophylaxis; the VaxCertPH and the national or state digital certificate of the country/foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement; and other proofs of vaccination allowed by the IATF.
The Philippines on Sunday, February 20, recorded its lowest single-day tally of new Covid-19 cases with only 1,712 new cases, while it recorded 3,686 new recoveries. This brought down the total number of active cases in the country to 60,532.
(Eagle News Service)
