Travel ban on India, other South Asian countries may be extended — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — The travel ban on India and other South Asian countries may be extended as the Philippines is expected to keep its borders closed to prevent the entry of more transmissible COVID-19 variants, Malacañang said Monday.

"Yes. As far as our borders are concerned, I think the worldwide tendency or phenomena is to continue with the travel ban because of the double variants coming from India," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing when asked whether the travel ban on passengers from South Asian countries would be extended.

"You know, I think regardless of the classification to be recommended by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease), we won't open our borders... So that won't change, our borders will remain closed especially to countries like India and Pakistan, which recently imposed an absolutely no entry policy," he added.

The Philippines is implementing travel restrictions on passengers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka as a safety measure against the COVID-19 variant first detected in India. The restrictions on passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka began last May 7 and will remain in force until May 14.

Roque noted that international tourism is still prohibited and only foreigners with investors visas are allowed to enter the Philippines.

Last week, the IATF approved stricter protocols for arriving travelers, including requiring them to undergo 14-day quarantine regardless of vaccination status. The first 10 days of the quarantine will be spent in a quarantine facility while the remaining days will be completed in their respective homes.

All arriving travelers are also required to undergo a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing on the 7th day and to complete the 10-day facility based quarantine period even if they tested negative for COVID-19.