DOH to rely on current border control vs Europe surge

THE Department of Health (DOH) said Friday, November 26, it will rely on the country's prevailing border control measures to prevent a surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases as seen in several European countries.

In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are not yet looking at imposing travel restrictions against countries seeing surge in Covid-19 cases.

"We have this existing classification system we adopted from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and recognized by the World Health Organization, wherein we classify countries according to their risk levels. These are the green, yellow, and red countries," said Vergeire.

"For these different countries or classifications, we have different safeguards or protocols that will help ensure that we maintain control of our borders," she added.

Aside from different levels of quarantine, testing, and mandatory vaccination requirements, Vergeire said control remains up to the respective communities of the incoming travelers.

"In any case, we have another layer in our protocol, wherein they have to self-monitor while their local governments are mandated to monitor all of these individuals, who are coming home to their communities," said Vergeire.

The color coded scheme is determined by the Covid-19 risk level of the country, wherein green is low, yellow is moderate, and red is high.

The statement came as several European countries are currently experiencing a new wave of Covid-19 cases. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)