So far, the Philippines has not reported any cases of Omicron strain. (File)
Manila:
The Philippines has temporarily suspended its decision to allow the entry of fully vaccinated travelers in an effort to prevent a new, highly mutated coronavirus variant from taking off in a country where most of the population remains unvaccinated. .
It comes as the Southeast Asian nation on Monday kicked off a three-day vaccination campaign targeting 9 million people aged 12 in a bid to speed up the rollout of the shots.
To date, the country has not reported any cases of the Omicron strain, which was first detected in South Africa and has since spread globally.
Last week, Manila announced plans to allow fully vaccinated tourists from most countries to enter from December 1 as they seek to revive the nation’s battered economy.
But the government’s Covid-19 task force reversed course over the weekend when it announced the suspension of flights from seven European countries, in addition to an earlier ban on arrivals from several African countries. .
“The IATF considers it necessary to suspend the entry of foreign tourists, due to worldwide concern about the Omicron variant,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Monday, using the acronym of task force.
The decision is a blow to tour operators across the archipelago, which has been ravaged by a drop in international arrivals and restrictions on domestic travel since the border closed. in March 2020.
Official data shows that tourism is the main driver of the country’s economy, accounting for nearly 13% of gross domestic product in 2019, when more than eight million people visited.
That number dropped to 5.4% last year when tourist arrivals plummeted 82% to 1.48 million.
The government has eased virus restrictions in recent weeks as the daily infection rate is at its lowest level since the start of the year and vaccination rates nationwide have increased.
But Omicron’s arrival has raised concerns that containment measures could be re-established.
About a third of the country’s 110 million people are fully immunized.
The Philippines has recorded more than 2.8 million infections since the start of the pandemic, including more than 48,000 deaths.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
