Philippines closes borders again. KH/TH still open

[ladislav]

With the Omicron raising its ugly head, the PH suspended its plan to open up to tourists. But Cambodia is still open with an e-visa and so is Thailand with this and that test. Hope these stay open.

[publicduende]

MANILA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Philippines on Sunday further tightened border controls to keep out the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, adding seven European countries to a travel ban that initially covered seven African nations.

The Omicron variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday, with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and two each in Denmark and Australia.

The Philippines coronavirus task force placed Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy under its so-called "red list" until Dec. 15, banning the entry of travellers from these countries.

The ban initially covered South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique.

The government also backpedalled on a plan to allow the entry of some vaccinated foreign tourists starting Dec. 1.

"Inbound international travel of all persons, regardless of vaccination status, coming from or who have been to red list countries/jurisdictions/territories within the last 14 days prior to arrival to any port of the Philippines, shall not be allowed," acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement.

The Philippines, which is one of the region's worst-hit countries in terms of infections, deaths and economic losses, has gradually reopened its borders and economy.

Its new daily case count dropped to 838 on Sunday, the lowest since December 2020-compared with a record peak of more than 26,000 in September - after having fully inoculated more than 35 million Filipinos, or 46% of the targeted population.

The goal is to increase the number of vaccinated individuals to 54 million by year-end, or 70% of the targeted population, 77 million by the end of March 2022, and 90 million by end-June, according to Carlito Galvez Jr, who leads the government's vaccination strategy.

Galvez on Sunday disclosed a deal to buy an additional 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), intended for booster shots and paediatric vaccinations next year.

[gsjackson]

Wonder how much Carlito has been paid by TPTB.

[publicduende]

Wonder how much Carlito has been paid by TPTB.

No idea, but I can tell you this much. 90% of those 30% of the population who got vaccinated couldn't give a rat's a$$ about being inoculated with oxidated graphene or aluminum-based hydras. They just want to be able to continue with their jobs. Most government offices and many private sector companies mandated vaccination for their employees, so they didn't really have a choice.

The irony of this is that, at least here, many of the vaccinated brought home a nasty surprise, infecting their entire families and putting a few or their elderly on a hospital bed or in a coffin.

[Winston]

I don't understand something. With all the lockdowns and travel restrictions how could any new omicron variant spread at all or be a threat. I dont get the logic. Couldn't all this be a show, orchestrated and engineered? Even if omicron exists?

[gsjackson]

I don't understand something. With all the lockdowns and travel restrictions how could any new omicron variant spread at all or be a threat. I dont get the logic. Couldn't all this be a show, orchestrated and engineered? Even if omicron exists?

Of course it's just theater. It's very obvious in, for example, the UK, where all you have to do is follow the money. The clown Bojo and company have ordered 114 million doses from Pfizer and Moderna, paid for with tax dollars. All those jabs need to find arms to go into, multiple times in a nation of, what, 65 million? Ergo: omicron. The "variants" will keep coming until massive civil disobedience makes it clear people aren't going to put up with this any longer.

[publicduende]

I don't understand something. With all the lockdowns and travel restrictions how could any new omicron variant spread at all or be a threat. I dont get the logic. Couldn't all this be a show, orchestrated and engineered? Even if omicron exists?

It's not a threat, as the South African health authorities have been trying hard to shout for at least the past week. Against the massive propaganda machine of TPTB, they don't stand half a chance...

[Winston]

With the Omicron raising its ugly head, the PH suspended its plan to open up to tourists. But Cambodia is still open with an e-visa and so is Thailand with this and that test. Hope these stay open.

Can you post info about Thailand and Cambodia? Can anyone fly in now or only vaccinated people? Any quarantine?

[ladislav]

Oh, a simple google search on Thailand/Cambodia entry reqs will list those. Also, if you search thru FB groups such as Expats in Cambodia or Expats in Thailand, it's being updated daily. Feel free to ask.

[flowerthief00]

I would go to Thailand or Cambodia or Vietnam or Malaysia or Philippines or Indonesia or anywhere in that region if I could. I don't care which at this point. Unfortunately, excepting Thailand, which would cost me in expensive quarantine to the point of not being worth it, none of these countries are opening their doors to the unvaccinated. Every last one of them has embraced the unscientific position that currently available vaxes can stop the spread of a coronavirus.