By Pearl Gumapos
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) recommendation of lifting travel restrictions in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates beginning Sept. 6.
However, international travelers coming from the mentioned countries should comply with the appropriate entry, testing, and quarantine protocols.
Meanwhile, the IATF approved the soft launch of the National Digital Vaccine Certificate or VaxCertPH on Sept. 6.
The VaxCertPH will unify varying vaccine cards nationwide. It is an online portal established for the issuance of vaccination certificates that comply with the requirements set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for vaccination certificates.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a statement, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipinos who will be departing from the Philippines for international travel with the place of residence indicating Metro Manila and Baguio City will be prioritized in the initial phase of the implementation of the VaxCertPH.
It will later be opened to the general public and for other purposes at a later time.
The IATF has also updated its “green list”, a list of countries, jurisdictions, or territories that are considered “low-risk.”
Included in the list are American Samoa, Anguilla, Australia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gabon, Grenada, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Slovakia, and Taiwan. -rir
