Philippines bans arrivals from 20 countries over new virus strain

MANILA: The Philippines will shut its borders to foreigners arriving from 20 countries and territories in a bid to prevent a new strain of coronavirus entering the nation, officials said Tuesday.

The ban on travellers from places including Australia, France, Japan and Hong Kong comes as the archipelago braces for a post-Christmas surge in the virus that has infected nearly half a million people.

Dozens of countries closed their borders to the Britain in recent weeks over rising cases of a variant that is believed to spread faster.

The Philippines – which has not yet detected the new strain – was among them, and in Tuesday’s announcement it extended the ban to January 15.

The measure takes effect Wednesday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Foreigners have been largely banned from entering the country during the pandemic, but authorities recently started to allow entry to holders of certain types of visas.

Filipinos returning home from countries on the list will be allowed to enter, but will have to undergo 14-days quarantine even if they test negative for Covid-19, he added.

Meanwhile, after months of talks, the Philippines has approved an application for its first clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate – developed by Johnson & Johnson’s Belgian subsidiary Janssen – the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

It comes after authorities said members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security team had been given a Chinese-made vaccine that has not been approved for use in the country, sparking criticism the jabs were illegal and the recipients had jumped the queue.

Roque said the Sinopharm vaccine had been donated, but he did not say who provided it.

Duterte has previously expressed confidence in vaccines made by China and Russia, even offering himself up as a guinea pig for the very first jab of Moscow’s controversial “Sputnik V”.

Roque played down concerns about the safety of the Sinopharm drug, saying it was meant to send a message of hope to Filipinos.

“The news is that the vaccine is already here and if we cannot be given Western vaccines, our friend and neighbour China is willing to give us vaccines,” Roque said.

“It’s not prohibited under the law to get inoculated with an unregistered (vaccine). What is illegal is the distribution and selling.”

More than 470,000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the Philippines and authorities fear a postChristmas surge in infections.

The FDA issued a statement Monday warning against the use of unauthorised vaccines, noting there was “no guarantee on the safety, quality and efficacy” of a drug that has not undergone technical evaluation by the regulator.

So far, the Philippines has signed a deal with AstraZeneca for 2.6 million doses of its vaccine and hopes to secure another 30 million from the company using public and private funding.

Pfizer has applied for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine.

China has four vaccines, including Sinopharm, in the final stages of development and is well advanced with mass human testing in a number of countries. However, little information has been published about the safety or efficacy of the Chinese drugs. — AFP