THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved and released its updated Red, Green, and Yellow List of countries effective November 1 until November 15, 2021.
According to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the countries/jurisdictions/territories under the Green List include Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.
Latvia, a country in northern Europe, shall be classified under the Red List, Roque said.
All other countries not mentioned are placed under the Yellow List, he added.
In a related matter, the IATF expanded to the Yellow List the limited international transit hub operations that was previously approved for countries/territories/jurisdictions in the Green List. However, the operations shall be limited to airside transfers between Terminals 1 and 2, and within Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The IATF likewise approved the creation of a sub-Technical Working Group headed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that would formulate and propose recommendations for special pilot testing and quarantine protocols for Filipinos, balikbayans, and their families coming from Green and Yellow Lists, the presidential spokesperson said.
As regards public transportation in the National Capital Region (NCR), the IATF also approved the DOTr’s recommendation increasing passenger capacity in public transportation from 70 percent to full capacity for road-based and rail transportation plying Metro Manila and its adjacent provinces starting November 4, 2021.