Travelers from countries with new COVID-19 variant, required 5th day test instead of 14 days quarantine

The Inter-Agency Task Force will implement a stricter testing protocol for travelers arriving from jurisdictions with confirmed cases of new, more transmissible COVID-19 variants, COVID-19 task force spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Friday.

Roque said the mandatory completion of the 14-day facility-based quarantine for arrivals will be replaced with testing the passengers upon arrival then another test during their fifth day of quarantine. If their second RT-PCR test yields a negative result, they can be sent home. It was not immediately clear how long quarantine would be for those whose second swab test comes out positive.

“For passengers coming from, or transiting through, countries where travel restrictions are in place due to new COVID-19 variants, these incoming passengers shall be tested upon arrival and shall be quarantined until the result of the subsequent test administered on the fifth day is released,” he said in a statement.

In the IATF Resolution 95, Series of 2021 January 21, 2021 in section C number 3 states that:

“To amend the testing and quarantine protocols for passengers coming from, and transiting through countries where travel restrictions are in place due to the new COVID-19 variants. Incoming passengers shall be tested upon arrival and shall be quarantined until the result of a subsequent test administered on the fifth day is released. After which, said persons who yield a negative result from both COVID-19 tests shall be endorsed to their local government units of destination who shall then strictly monitor the remainder of the fourteen-day quarantine through their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams. The Department of Health, and such other implementing agencies providing for quarantine protocols, are directed to amend their issuances to conform with the foregoing;”

Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said the passengers will be turned over to their respective hometowns after their negative result, but they will have to complete their two-week quarantine at home. She added the new testing rules will take effect after agencies issue guidelines.

“Critical dito ang hand off at proper endorsement to the LGU [Proper endorsement to the LGU is critical],” she said in a media briefing. “The local government unit has to ensure that the 14-day home quarantine will be implemented properly,”

The coronavirus infection’s incubation period is five to 14 days. This means coronavirus symptoms could appear within five days to two weeks after a person has been exposed to the virus.

The IATF previously required passengers to take a swab test upon arrival then they are allowed to go home after completing their two-week quarantine at a government-accredited facility.