OFWs deployed to Saudi Arabia will still subject to quarantine if they’re vaccinated with China-made vaccines.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed to Saudi Arabia will still subject to quarantine if they’re vaccinated with China-made COVID-19 vaccines.
On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that OFWs going to Saudi Arabia will still need to be swabbed and quarantined for 10 days even if they had been vaccinated with China-made vaccines.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III confirmed in an interview on ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo that Overseas Filipino workers deployed to the Arab state will need to undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR test and 10-day quarantine upon arrival if they’re vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines made by Sinopharm or Sinovac.
“Tinatanggap pa rin pero kailangan dumaan pa rin sa quarantine at may [RT-PCR] pa rin, hindi kagaya nung Pfizer ka. Libre ka na, tuloy-tuloy pagpasok mo,” Bello told ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.
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Earlier, the Philippines suspended deployment of Overseas Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia following reports that deployed workers will need to shoulder the costs of the 10-day quarantine.
Social media posts also claimed that Saudi Arabia will not allow entry of travelers vaccinated with China-made COVID-19 vaccines such as Sinovac and Sinopharm.
Last Saturday, the deployment ban was lifted after the Saudi government said that it had mandated foreign employers to shoulder the travel protocol costs of Overseas Filipino workers upon arrival.
According to Bello, he had to ensure that employers would cover the costs of quarantine, which could run up to SAR 3,500.
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