MANILA — The country's pandemic task force will discuss possible entry restrictions for travelers from China, which is grappling with a surge of COVID-19 cases, a transportation official said Thursday.

"At the moment I am aware COVID testing is no longer required as we have implemented before," Department of Transportation Undersecretary Steven Pastor told ANC's "Rundown".

"But I think this will be thoroughly discussed through the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) and of course, the DOTr will abide by the regulations that will be recommended by our health experts and even the IATF," he added.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista has recommended RT-PCR testing upon arrival for visitors from China.

"If we travel to Hong Kong, you need an RT-PCR [result], although there's no need to quarantine. But maybe, we should also adopt similar practices for passengers coming from areas where there is high COVID-19 cases," he said on Wednesday.

"Because COVID is still there and we need to protect our citizens here."

• Transport chief says PH should be 'cautious' as it prepares to welcome Chinese travelers

The United States has announced mandatory COVID-19 testing for travelers from China as Beijing's sudden abandonment of tough measures to contain the coronavirus -- and surge in virus cases -- caused jitters around the world.

The US move came after Italy, India and Malaysia announced their own measures to protect against importing new COVID variants from China.

Japan also recently announced that all travelers from China must show a negative COVID-19 test on arrival or quarantine for 7 days.

Hospitals and crematoriums across China continue to be overwhelmed by the explosion of COVID-19 cases, which have hit the elderly especially hard.

• US to impose China COVID testing as virus surge jangles global nerves

The winter surge comes ahead of next month's lunar new year holidays, for which hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to their hometowns to reunite with relatives.

The end of mass testing and the decision last week by China's National Health Commission to stop releasing an official daily COVID death toll made it harder to understand the extent of the outbreak.

Chinese health authorities are using data from online surveys, hospital visits, demand for fever medicines and emergency calls to "make up for shortcomings in (officially) reported figures", disease control official Yin Wenwu said at a press briefing Tuesday.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

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