Go Ad-Free
    My Alerts
    Moneycontrol
    Moneycontrol PRO
    HomeNewsBusinessWire NewsPhilippines lifts travel ban on India, 9 other countries amidst rise in COVID-19 cases

    Philippines lifts travel ban on India, 9 other countries amidst rise in COVID-19 cases

    International travelers coming from the 10 countries shall, however, comply with the appropriate entry, testing and quarantine protocols, depending on their approved 'listing,' Roque said.

    PTI
    September 04, 2021 / 18:12 IST
    Reuters

    The Philippines on Saturday decided to welcome travellers from India and nine other countries from September 6, according to a Presidential Palace announcement. The announcement came even as the country recorded its second highest number of COVID-19 cases with 20,310 infections on Friday, pushing the national tally to 2.04 million, The Manila Times newspaper reported.

    President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to lift the current travel restrictions on India and nine other countries starting September 6, Presidential Palace spokesperson Harry Roque was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

    The other countries are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the official said.

    International travelers coming from the 10 countries shall, however, comply with the appropriate entry, testing and quarantine protocols, depending on their approved 'listing,' Roque said.

    The Philippine government, in a COVID-19 update on August 13, had extended its travel ban on India and nine other countries until August 31.

    COVID-19 Vaccine

    Frequently Asked Questions

    View more
    How does a vaccine work?

    A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

    How many types of vaccines are there?

    There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

    What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

    Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

    View more
    Show

    The presidential spokesperson said the IATF approved the adoption of "Yellow" and "Red" classifications, in addition to the "Green List" countries/jurisdictions/territories.

    "This is based on their respective incidence rates and case counts as primary criteria, and testing data as secondary criteria.

    "The incidence rate is the cumulative new cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 population while case counts are cumulative new cases over the past 28 days," Roque added.

    Positivity rate remained at 27.4 per cent, meaning that out of the 67,759 tests, 18,566 tested positive for the coronavirus, the report added.

    Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 infection tally rose by 42,618 in a day to reach 3,29,45,907 while the number of active cases touched 4,05,681 following an increase for the fourth consecutive day, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Saturday.

    The death toll climbed to 4,40,225 with 330 more people succumbing to the viral disease, it added.

    Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.
    PTI
    first published: Sep 4, 2021 06:08 pm

    Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

    Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

    • On Saturdays

      Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

    • Daily-Weekdays

      Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

    Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347