After almost two years, the Philippines will temporarily open its borders to tourists from certain countries on December 1st - travelers from Austria will not be allowed in for the time being.

Only international holiday guests who are fully vaccinated and come from "green" countries with a high vaccination rate and low infection rates are allowed to enter. European states are initially not among them, according to the ORF. It is a first opening step that will only apply until December 15: "If we see that the implementation is going well, we will extend the dates," adds President Spokesman Karlo Nograles today. The Philippines had already closed the country's borders in March 2020 due to CoV. Several African countries are on the list of "green" countries, including South Africa, where the coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 recently appeared. But: According to the immigration authorities, entry restrictions due to the new variant are not ruled out.