PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL

The Philippine Consulate General in New York wishes to inform kababayan returning to the United States that effective today, 06 December 2021, all travelers will be required to show evidence of a negative test for the coronavirus within one day of boarding their flight instead of the previous requirement of three days prior.

This testing requirement is applicable to all, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship. The only exceptions to the test are children younger than two years old.

Acceptable COVID-19 tests are either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), examples of which are the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid tests that meet the criteria.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has clarified that the one-day period is one day before the flight’s departure and not necessarily 24 hours. The CDC order uses a one-day time frame instead of 24 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a one-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.

Prior to boarding a flight to the US, kababayan are required to present a paper or digital copy of their test result for review by the airline and for review upon request by public health officials after arrival in the US.

New York City has not made any additional requirements and advises that all travelers should abide by all CDC requirements.