One week after South African authorities reported the existence of the highly mutated Omicron variant to the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 24, the new variant has managed to spread in 20 countries. Brazil and Japan were the last two countries to report cases of the new variant on Tuesday,…
INTERNATIONAL concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant prompted the government to reimpose mandatory facility-based quarantine for all arriving passengers in the country. Acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo B. Nograles announced on Sunday that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) suspended the…
BALIKBAYANS (homecoming Filipinos) are expected to continue arriving in the Philippines despite the discovery of a new, more infectious Covid-19 variant dubbed “omicron.” This developed even as the planned entry of vaccinated leisure tourists from Green List countries has been put on the back burner as the Cabinet-level Inter-Agency Task…
REPATRIATION. Labor Attache Marnie German (3rd from left) assists one of the repatriates with a medical condition (seated) on Nov. 23, 2021. Looking on is Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Elaiza Joy De La Cruz (left) and POLO-OWWA Assistant Jinky Bayog (rightmost). (Photo courtesy of DFA/V. Siy) MANILA - The Philippine Consulate General in Macau SAR successfully conducted its 25th repatriation flight for 204 distressed Filipinos on Nov. 23, 2021. Since March 2020, the Consulate has organized 25 repatriation flights that have brought home a total of 4,961 Filipinos in Macau negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement on Wednesday, the Consulate asked those who want to return to the Philippines to register their details via https://tinyurl.com/repatMacau. Meanwhile, it welcomed the recent decision of the Philippine Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), in its Resolution No. 149-A, requiring fully vaccinated passengers