The Philippines will ban travelers who were recently in the US from Sunday after a third state confirmed a COVID-19 case involving the new species that experts say is more contagious.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said foreigners who have been in the US for the past 14 days will be denied entry into the country, according to a statement obtained by Reuters.
The travel ban, which is in addition to other restrictions announced for 19 countries and territories on Tuesday, is scheduled for January 15. US travelers arriving before January 3 may enter the country as long as they remain in quarantine for 14 days. .
The Philippines decided to add the US to the list after the country’s health and foreign affairs department proposed doing so, Roque said, according to Reuters.
Filipinos returning from the US will not be banned from entering the country, but will also be quarantined in a government facility for 14 days.
The new strain of the virus, dubbed B.1.1.7, was first located in the UK, but has since spread to several other countries, including the US.
Florida became the third state to confirm a case with the new New Year’s Eve variant, with Colorado and California announcing earlier cases earlier this week.
Health experts have said they believe the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective against the variant, but more studies are needed to confirm that.
The species has not yet made its way to the Philippines, where, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 475,000 COVID-19 cases and 9,248 have been killed.