Due to the record-breaking COVID-19 cases that breached 26,000 in new infections and 100,000 in active cases, the Philippines faces the prospect of the quarantine protocols being raised to Alert Level 4.
That may spur foreign countries to list the Philippines under the “red” status, which will curtail the travel of our players, warns Joebert Yu, secretary general and executive director of the Philippine Esports Organization (PeSO).
Yu raised the warning on his personal Facebook page:
“There's a news that came out that the Philippines may possibly change to alert level 4 due to high rise of covid confirmed cases,” he said. "This could also mean that the country could be listed in the "red" from other countries' status.”
A red status can negatively impact the Philippine esports scene, he said.
“I just want to bring this up for those potential Philippine esports athletes/ teams that may qualify to an international esports competition during this time, there's a chance that our potential "red" status may hinder or not allow you to fly on those events,” he shared.
The year 2022 is a busy one for the international esports scene. The 31st SEA Games will take place in May in Hanoi, while other notable tournaments such as those mentioned by Riot Games in 2022 risks being affected.
Given the nature of COVID in the Philippines, Yu advises every esports player and organization to prepare for the worst.
“Advising to be prepared and exhaust all possible options! Most of you already knew what happened to some of the Philippine esports athletes / teams last year that had these kinds of issues," he said.
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