FILIPINO workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Japan cheered the latest pronouncement by the Philippine government putting the five countries under the “green list” category.
“At long last! Saudi has been very strict in implementing Covid-19 protocols so it’s high time we are included in the green list,” Jeddah-based OFW Ronald Concha told the BusinessMirror. Concha, an OFW advocate and founder of NGO Kaagapay ng Bawat OFW, said a lot of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are eager to come home for Christmas since many of them missed to reunite with their families last year.
Filipinos who came from green list countries are allowed to skip the mandatory quarantine if they have been vaccinated for at least two doses of Covid-19 jabs, and tested negative for viral test at least 72 hours before their flight.
OFWs in UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Japan also welcomed the inclusion of their host countries in the green list.
Other OFW-populated countries included in the new green list effective Tuesday (November 16) until November 30:
1. China
2. Indonesia
3. Morocco
4. Northern Mariana Islands
5. Palau
6. Hong Kong
7. India
8. Taiwan
Just last August, OFWs in UAE, Oman, and India were prohibited from coming to the Philippines as their host countries had high cases of Covid-19.
DFA Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said the Inter-Agency Task Force is following the guidelines given by the Department of Health on determining if a country falls under their color-designated listing.
Meanwhile, Filipinos in The Netherlands and Faroe Islands in Denmark as well as their Dutch or Danish spouses and children are not allowed to enter the Philippines.
The IATF has placed The Netherlands and Faroe Islands under a red list.
Exemptions will be granted for Filipinos who will fly via “government-initiated repatriation, nongovernment-initiated repatriation, or Bayanihan Flights.” A 14-day quarantine will be required for those who will be granted exemption from the red list travel ban.
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes
IATF’s new ‘green’ and ‘red’ lists of countries cheer, sadden OFW
Source: News Paper Radio
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