MANILA: The Philippines has eased the pandemic quarantine period from two weeks to one week for inbound travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement on Friday.

Roque said these fully vaccinated travellers will no longer require to undergo a Covid-19 RT-PCR or swab test upon arrival. An RT-PCR test will only be carried out when the individual shows Covid-19 symptoms within the seven-day quarantine. Roque said the inter-agency coronavirus task force approved the new guidelines on Thursday.

"An individual shall be considered as having been fully vaccinated two or more weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series, or two or more weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine," Roque explained. He said that a fully vaccinated individual must carry the vaccination card verified before departure.

After completing the seven-day facility-based quarantine, Roque said the quarantine bureau shall issue a quarantine certificate indicating the individual's vaccination status. He reiterated that the Southeast Asian country only allows foreign nationals with valid and existing visas to enter.

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