The Philippines will ban travelers who were recently in the United States starting Sunday after a third state confirmed a COVID-19 case with the new strain that experts say is most contagious.
Spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Harry Roque, said foreigners who have been in the United States for the past 14 days will be denied entry to the country, according to a statement obtained by Reuters.
The travel ban, which added to other restrictions announced for 19 countries and territories on Tuesday, is scheduled to last until January 15th. .
The Philippines decided to add the United States to the list after the country’s health and foreign affairs department suggested doing so, Roque said, according to Reuters.
Filipinos returning from the U.S. will not be barred from entering the country, but will also have to do a 14-day quarantine at a government facility.
The new strain of the virus, called B.1.1.7, was first located in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to several other countries, including the United States.
Florida it became the third state to confirm a case with the new variant on New Year’s Eve, with Colorado and California previously announcing cases earlier this week.
Health experts have said they believe the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective against the variant, but more trials are needed to confirm this.
The strain has not yet hit the Philippines, which has recorded more than 475,000 cases of COVID-19 and 9,248 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.