Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion called on the government to shorten the quarantine period for travelers from countries classified under “yellow list” to help revive the air travel and tourism sectors.
“I asked the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) na ibaba ang [to bring down] quarantine for two nights, for those who were able to take RT-PCR test, two nights which is about three days,” Concepcion during Laging Handa briefing on Friday.
“Hopefully they accept that and I was told they are adding yellow countries,” he added.
The presidential adviser said lowering the number of quarantine days for travelers entering the country will help revive the airline and the tourism industries which were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Delikado dito mga airlines natin [Our airlines are badly hit], they have to be flying para kumita,” Concepcion said.
“Isa pang tinamaan dito ang tourism sector natin. Maraming mga hotel na very low ang occupancy,” he added.
[Another one that’s badly hit is our tourism sector. Many hotels have very low occupancy.]
Under current rules, travelers from “yellow” countries have to undergo facility quarantine for five days upon receipt of negative RT-PCR test and have to continue isolation at home for another five days.
Concepcion said the quarantine period has to be lowered further to encourage more people to travel to the country, especially during the holiday season.
The presidential adviser argued that incidents of infection from air travels is below one percent.
Citing the vaccination efforts, Concepcion said the COVID-19 situation is “under control” and the country has to open its borders to help tourism, the hardest hit sector.—LDF, GMA News
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