THE Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday, November 26, 2020, allowed the entry to the Philippines of Filipino citizens’ foreign spouses and children, regardless of age, who are traveling with them, starting December 7, 2020.
Also permitted is the entry of former Filipino citizens, including their spouses and children, regardless of age, who are traveling with them.
The entry of these persons will be subject to conditions such as they are allowed visa-free entry under Executive Order No. 408, series of 1960; they are required a pre-booked quarantine facility and a pre-booked COVID-19 testing at a laboratory operating at the airport. They, too, must be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.
The IATF directed the Bureau of Immigration to formulate the necessary guidelines to ensure the smooth implementation of this policy.
The Department of Tourism is likewise directed to issue the necessary guidelines for the provision of sufficient accommodation for the above-mentioned persons taking into account the release of their Covid-19 test results.
The IATF, in its 85th meeting, likewise approved to increase the operational capacity of commissioned shuttle services for employees of permitted offices or establishments by allowing them to adopt a “one-seat apart” arrangement or a full seating capacity, provided there are necessary dividers and other health and safety measures are in place.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will issue the necessary advisories for private shuttles in this regard.
Also approved were the recommendations of the sub-Technical Working Group on Information and Communications Technology Solutions which include data collected through digital contact tracing applications shall conform with specific minimum data requirements as stated in the Department of Health (DOH) Department Memorandum No. 2020-0436 and other relevant issuances; and all data collected through digital contact tracing applications used by DOH-accredited COVID-19 health facilities, temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs), hospitals, establishments, workplaces, transportation vehicles/ hubs, and local government units (LGUs) shall be submitted to a centralized tracing data repository, which will be linked to either Covid-Kaya or the Covid-19 Document Repository System (CDRS).
StaySafe.ph will be the government’s digital contact tracing application of choice and will be made mandatory for adoption and use in all national government agencies and instrumentalities as well as LGUs.
Private establishments, facilities and offices are encouraged to use Stafysafe.ph while for those with existing contact tracing applications they are enjoined to integrate their systems with the Staysafe.ph system. (PR)