Czech Republic added to list of restricted countries

27 Jan 2021 / Philippines

The Czech Republic has been added to the list of countries/jurisdictions subjected to travel restrictions relative to the SARS-COV-2 Variants, as per the latest guidelines on the conduct of crew changes.

Ships coming from or having rendered port of call/s from the listed countries within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, are temporarily restricted from disembarking their foreign seafarers until 31 January 2021.

A.1 However, foreign seafarers coming from, or who have been to Czech Republic within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, arriving before 28 January 2021, 12:01AM, Manila time, shall be allowed to disembark subject to health and safety protocols specified under this memorandum.

B. Filipino and foreign seafarers aboard ship with no recorded port of callsin any of the countries listed in Item A within the last 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines shall be allowed to disembark in any of the crew change hubs established by this Department, subject to existing health and safety protocols of the established One-Shop Shops (OSS) for Seafarers.

C. Filipino seafarerscoming from countries mentioned in Item A, or who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, shall not be prohibited from entering the Philippines.

D. Seafarers that fall under the classification of Items A.1 and C are only allowed to disembark in Port of Manila. They shall be tested upon arrival and shall be quarantined until the result of a subsequent test administered on the fifth day of quarantine is released. After which, said seafarers who yield a negative result from both COVID-19 tests shall be endorsed to their local government units of destination. Filipino seafarers returning to their provinces shall be strictly monitored for the remainder of their fourteen-day quarantine through their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams.

E. All incoming seafarers from any country, if found positive, shall undergo whole genome sequencing conducted by the Department of Health (DOH), University of the Philippines (UP) Philippine Genome Center, and UP-National Institutes of Health, in addition to the prescribed testing and quarantine protocols.

F. Embarkation to ships bound to the countries mentioned in Item A shall be subject to the existing exit protocols of the Philippines as well as entry protocols of the respective countries.

For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in the Philippines, contact GAC Philippines at [email protected]

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