Unvaccinated US citizens warned vs non-essential trips to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The United States has advised its citizens unvaccinated for COVID-19 to avoid non-essential travel to the Philippines and other countries at "high" risk for the disease. 

Manila joined 64 other nations under the said status, per an August 9 travel health notice by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US CDC told Americans to ensure they are complete with their COVID-19 shots before traveling here. 

"Because of the current situation in the Philippines," it said, "all travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants."

The Philippine government has ordered a new lockdown in the capital region and in some areas as the country faces a new uptick in coronavirus cases. 

Officials have returned the "high-risk" classification at home, just weeks after downgrading it to "moderate risk."

Capital region Metro Manila, with 13.4 million residents, is on a two-week hard lockdown until August 20. A health official earlier today said that could still be extended. 

Experts have attributed the rising infections to the highly transmissible Delta variant, which has now been detected in 13 out of 17 regions in the country. 

Authorities have reported 450 cases of the Delta to date, and also confirmed its local transmssion. 

Some 74 countries, meanwhile, are on the US CDC's "very high" risk assessment. 

It includes Southeast Asian countries Indonesia and Malaysia, neighbors of the Philippines dealing with a Delta-driven surge that have overwhelmed their health care system. 

The Department of Health on Tuesday said 8,560 more Filipinos contracted the COVID-19. 

It marks the sixth straight day of reporting more than 8,000 cases. 

The 11,021 new infections just last August 7, was its highest since April this year, when the country was also under a stricter type of quarantine.