The Philippines will prohibit the entry of foreign travelers from the United States effective January 3, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman said on Friday after the new and more infectious variant of the coronavirus was detected in Florida, the third U.S. state to report variant cases.

The travel ban, until January 15, includes those who have been to the United States within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines, spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.

Filipino citizens are not subjected to the ban but will be required to undergo a facility-based 14-day quarantine period, even if they obtain a negative RT-PCR test result, according to the announcement. 

(With input from Reuters)