Inside view: COVID-19 quarantine hotels in Manila

SWAB TEST QUEUE: In-bound passengers form a queue to the RT-PCR test booths run by the Coast Guard at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Terminal 2.

TRAVEL BAN: On December 31, 2020, the Manila government announced a travel ban on non-Philippine citizens arriving from countries officially reporting cases of the new COVID-19 variant. More countries were subsequently added to the list, which now covers 34 countries. The ban remains in place until January 31, 2021. Passengers form a queue towards a PCR test boost at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2.

LIST OF COUNTRIES: A scene at Manila's NAIA, Terminal 1. On January 17, 2021, the Philippines expanded the list of countries with a temporary travel ban to 34 countries. These include UK, USA, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Israel, Portugal, China, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Singapore, Lebanon, Japan, Finland, Norway, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Australia, France, Iceland, South Korea, Jordan, Brazil, Australia, Jamaica, Oman, UAE, Luxembourg and Hungary.

PCR TEST: Inbound passengers take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test immediately after landing. In-bound overseas Filipino workers subjected to mandatory quarantine get a PCR test and hotel stay for free.

WAITING ON THE LINE: After the swab test done at the airport, arriving passengers queue up for buses that would take them to hotels-turned-quarantine-facilities in the Philippine capital and other cities with international airports..

HOME AT LAST: There are an estimated 10 million Filipinos working and living overseas. A scene at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2.

MEALS TO GO: Ready meals for in-bound overseas Filipino workers at the airport bus queue. Despite the temporary travel ban, expatriate Filipinos who wish to fly home will be allowed to do so.

SHOW ME YOUR PASSPORT: A hotel staff behind an acrylic glass checks a guest's passport details upon check-in.

WAIT FOR YOUR TURN: The main lobby of Somerset Alabang, a hotel in Manila used as a quarantine facility.

SUITED UP: All hotel staff, from the check-in counter to the room service crew, are suited up with personal protection equipment (PPE).

HOTEL QUARANTINE: The entrance of a quarantine hotel in Malate, a district of Manila. Guests are not allowed to leave their room during the quarantine period.

MANDATORY. Filipinos coming from the UAE can still go home despite the temporary ban for foreign nationals coming from 34 countries, including the UAE. But a 14-day quarantine at a government-mandated facility — usually a hotel — is mandatory. A print-out of quarantine rules, in Filipino (Tagalog) language, on display inside a quarantine hotel room.

DAILY RATES: A hotel designated as a quarantine facility in Manila shows their daily rates. In-bound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are taken to such facilities, and the government foots the bill. The pandemic has displaced an estimated 1.6 million OFWs. More than 100 hotels used as quarantine facilities around the country.

INSTRUCTIONS: A hotel check-in staff gives instructions to a guest.

HOTEL MEALS: Food cart ready for delivery to guests at a Manila quarantine hotel.

STAY IN PLACE: Meals are served outside a guest's room during the period. Those who undergo quarantine are not allowed to venture outside. Under the new protocols, they are subjected to strict monitoring until the end of their 14-day quarantine period.

FRONT DESK: A staff at Airo Hotel in Malate sits behind a plexiglass, which also shows the daily room rate. When dealing with guests directly, staff use personal protective equipment.

PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH: A grand piano sits in the lobby of a hotel in Manila used as quarantine facility.

WATER DISPENSER: A full bottle of drinking water awaits every guest at this hotel, and can be refilled upon request.

STRINGENT QUARANTINE: Stringent quarantine is required for all passengers coming from a "high-risk" area as identified by the WHO, or in case of sea-based overseas Filipino workers, those from a ‘high-risk’ vessel. It will also be required for passengers with flu-like symptoms based on the assessment of a health officer at the airport.

PROTOCOLS: Inside a quarantine hotel. Under strict quarantine protocols, Filipino citizens allowed to fly into the Philippines are PCR-tested upon arrival at any of the country’s international airports.

The facade of Airo Hotel in Malate, Manila.

TIME TO RELAX: Toilet and bath inside a quarantine hotel in Alabang, Manila.

ECO BAG: Meals are served three times a through this eco-bag, left by hotel staff outside your door, hanging from the knob.

INSIDE A QUARANTINE ROOM: The Philippines' Bureau of Quarantine inspects hotels designated as stringent quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, Tagaytay, and Batangas.

QUARANTINE HOTEL: This property fronting the Manila Bay is also one of the hundreds of hotels designated as a COVID-19 quarantine facility. A list of the hotels is available on PAL and Cebu Pacific website, as well as the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) site. Bayview Park Hotel Manila is classified as "suitable for stringent quarantine".

Room rates at a quarantine hotel in Manila ($1 = Php48).

SUITABLE ONLY FOR MANDATORY QUARANTINE: The official website of the Philippines' Bureau of Quarantine lists more than 180 hotels in Manila as "suitable only for mandatory quarantine", including this one. There are 130 other properties designated as "suitable for stringent quarantine".