The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has suspended the operations of its consular offices (CO) in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, and in Santiago City, Isabela from 10-14 September 2021 and 13-17 September 2021, respectively.

In a statement, the DFA said the personnel in the said consular offices have been infected with COVID-19 and other personnel has been identified as close contacts.

“As such, the COs have temporarily suspended operations to conduct thorough disinfection of its premises and to comply with the isolation and quarantine guidelines imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Emerging Infectious Diseases,” the statement said.

Affected applicants in CO Santiago with supposed appointments from 13-17 September 2021 will receive an email providing them the details of their alternative passport appointment.

Meanwhile, affected applicants in CO Tagum with supposed appointments from 10-14 September 2021 will be given new schedules from 15-24 September 2021.

The advisory added that applicants that require emergency or urgent consular services may contact CO Tagum by email (tagum.co@dfa.gov.ph / dfatagumconcerns@gmail.com /) or via landline (084 216 – 9846).

The CO Tagum will resume its regular operations on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, the statement further read.

The DFA said that it requested the public’s continued understanding as the department adheres to the prescribed measures against the COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of personnel and applicants.

Likewise, the Department urges applicants to ONLY refer to the official DFA platforms for announcements and updates.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported a total of 130 new COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos over the previous week, bringing the total number of cases to 23,036.

The DFA also recorded 287 new recoveries, pushing the total recoveries to 13,215, and seven new fatalities bringing the total death toll to 1,376.

Infected overseas Filipinos undergoing treatment is at 8,445.

Compared to last week’s figures, the DFA said, the total number of recoveries increased by 2.22%. Europe was the only region that did not record new cases this past week.

Meanwhile, the number of countries and territories with confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Filipinos abroad has now reached 103, following reports from the Middle East, and the Asia and the Pacific regions.

(1/4) The DFA reports a total of 130 new COVID-19 cases, 287 new recoveries, and 7 new fatalities among Filipinos abroad over the previous week. @teddyboylocsin #DFAForgingAhead#WeHealAsOne pic.twitter.com/sZ9lReUCfR

— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) September 6, 2021

The DFA, together with its Foreign Service Posts, said that it continues to monitor and assist Filipinos abroad amid the pandemic.

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to lift the current travel restrictions on travelers from 10 countries starting September 6, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced in a statement on Saturday.

These countries are namely:  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Nonetheless, international travelers coming from the said countries shall comply with the appropriate entry, testing and quarantine protocols, depending on the country’s approved “listing,” Roque said.

He added that the IATF has adopted the “Yellow” and “Red” classifications, in addition to the “Green List” countries/jurisdictions/territories.

Roque said this is based on the countries’ respective incidence rates and case counts as primary criteria, and testing data as secondary criteria.  The incidence rate is the cumulative new cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 population while case counts are cumulative new cases over the past 28 days.

The government first imposed the travel restrictions on India in April then later expanded to include more countries to stem the spread of Delta variant, the highly transmissible strain of COVID-19.