France is now in the "red" list for Covid-19 effective December 10, 2021, 12:01 AM until December 15, 2021 and travelers from this country cannot enter the Philippines due to the high risk of infection.
This was according to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Advisory implementing Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution 152-A, released Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021.
France registered a surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations middle of last month, prompting the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include the country in its red list, along with Andorra, Cyprus, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Portugal, and Tanzania.
Other countries in the Philippines’ Red List until December 15 include South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy.
Passengers who have been to France within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines and who arrive on or after 12:01 a.m. of December 10, but before 12:01 a.m. of December 13, shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 14 days with a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on the 7th day, with day one being the date of arrival.
Notwithstanding a negative RT-PCR result, the completion of the 14-day quarantine is required.
From 12:01 a.m. of December 13 until the end of December 15, entry in any port of the Philippines shall not be allowed for passengers coming from or who have been to France within the last 14 days prior to arrival in the Philippines, regardless of vaccination status.
Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated or non-government-initiated repatriation, and Bayanihan Flights may be allowed entry, subject to existing testing and quarantine protocols for red list countries/territories/jurisdictions.
As with all international inbound travel, the testing and quarantine protocols for minors shall follow the testing and quarantine protocols of the parent/guardian traveling with them, regardless of the minor’s vaccination status.
Children three years old and below, regardless of country of origin, shall be exempt from the requirement of presenting a negative RT-PCR test result before boarding the flight, unless symptomatic.
Passengers who arrived before December 10 and are currently undergoing quarantine shall complete the testing and quarantine protocols in effect at the time of their arrival.
All passengers merely transiting through France shall not be deemed as having come from or having been to said country if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry into such country by its immigration authorities.
Upon arrival in the Philippines, they shall comply with the applicable testing and quarantine protocols for passengers who have not been to any red list country.