MANILA, Philippines — The government's pandemic task force has extended the ban on travelers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Oman until the end of the month, Malacañang announced Wednesday.
The ban, which was set to expire on July 15, was first implemented by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to prevent the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
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"The IATF is directed to further review and provide recommendations on the appropriate testing and quarantine protocols for travelers coming from the aforementioned countries, and such other countries/jurisdictions which may thereafter be identified as high risk," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino during a briefing.
The Delta (B.1.617.2) variant was first identified in India. Local health authorities have so far detected 19 cases of the variant in the Philippines.
Studies suggest it spreads more quickly and seems to have stronger resistance to vaccines that other forms of COVID-19.
But the country’s Food and Drug Administration stressed coronavirus vaccines retain important effectiveness against the Delta variant.
The Philippines has the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia, trailing only Indonesia with over 1.48 million infections and 26,092 deaths as of Tuesday.
— Bella Perez-Rubio with reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico