Individuals who are fully vaccinated in the country, traveled abroad and returned to the Philippines will no longer be required to undergo RT-PCR test if they have not shown any symptoms of coronavirus disease during their seven-day facility-based quarantine, an official said on Friday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who is also the spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the "inbound international travel to any port of the Philippines of all fully vaccinated individuals who have been vaccinated in the Philippines" shall be required to undergo a seven-day facility-based quarantine upon arrival, with the day of arrival being the first day.

An individual shall be considered as having been fully vaccianted for COVID-19 two weeks after having received the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks after having received a single-dose vaccine.

The vaccines administered to the individual are included either in the Philippine Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization list or through a compassionate special permit.

The task force said a fully vaccinated individual must carry his or her vaccination card, which must be verified prior to the departure, as far as practicable.

The vaccination card must be presented to the dedicated Bureau of Quarantine representative for re-verification at the Department of Transportation One-Stop-Shop upon arrival in the Philippines.

The IATF tasked the BOQ to ensure "strict monitoring" of the arriving fully vaccinated individual while in the facility quarantine for seven days. After that, the individual is enjoined to self-monitor for any symptoms.

"The individual shall undergo Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction testing only when COVID-19 symptoms manifest within the duration of the seven-day facility-based quarantine," IATF said.

Once the seven-day facility-based quarantine is completed, the BOQ shall issue a quarantine certificate indicating the individual's vaccination status.

The task force directed the Department of Health, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the National Economic and Development Authority to convene and provide recommendations for further relaxing testing and quarantine protocols for certain classes of travelers. Celerina Monte/DMS