The government has released an updated roster of “red, yellow, and green” states and territories, Malacañang said on Friday.
Four new states—Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Serbia and Slovenia—have been included in the red list, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
“This new classification shall take effect on Sept. 19, 2021 until Sept. 30, 2021,” Roque, who also serves as a spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said.
Travel restrictions have been imposed on travelers from “high risk” countries that are under the red list.
Inbound passengers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or who have been to "red" nations are barred from entering the Philippines.
Returning Filipinos who will fly back to the country through government-initiated or non-government repatriation programs, as well as through special commercial flights allowed under existing IATF-EID resolutions are not covered by the travel restrictions.
On the other hand, states and jurisdictions included in the green list are American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and Gabon.
Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, and Sint Eustatius have also been listed under green list.
Other countries that have been put under green list are Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
The green states and jurisdictions have been classified as “low-risk countries or jurisdictions based on disease incidence rate.”
The government, through IATF-EID Resolution 128-A issued on July 22, has issued protocols for fully-vaccinated individuals who can avail of “green lanes.”
All other countries, territories, or jurisdictions that have not been mentioned are in the yellow list, Roque said.
The yellow list is composed of countries classified as moderate risk.
Inbound international travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, coming from or with travel history from yellow nations within the past 14 days before their arrival in the Philippines are mandated to observe the strict entry, testing, and quarantine protocols.
Also on Friday, the Department of Tourism said some residents of Metro Manila will be allowed to go on leisure travel to general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ areas.
“NCR residents under Alert Level 4 could travel to areas that are under MGCQ or GCQ, or are accepting visitors,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told Dobol B sa News TV in Filipino.
But some tourist destinations such as Baguio will allow only fully-vaccinated visitors, she said.
Tourist spots like Siargao, Boracay, and La Union are already open to visitors, but with age restrictions.
Puyat said Intramuros and Rizal Park are already open, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, but with age restrictions.