MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has extended the travel ban on ten countries to prevent the further spread of highly contagious COVID-19 variants, Malacañang announced Tuesday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte has approved the recommendation of the government's pandemic task force to extend the travel restrictions being imposed on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia from September 1 to 5.
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"These travel restrictions form part of the pro-active measures to slow down the rising number of COVID-19 cases, stop further spread of variants, and increase the country's existing healthcare capacity," Roque said in a statement.
The Philippines has been enforcing travel restrictions on India since April 29 and on travelers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka since May 7.
The ban was widened on May 15 to include UAE and Oman and on July 16 to include Indonesia. On July 25, Thailand and Malaysia were added to the list of countries that are covered by travel restrictions.
The ban does not cover Filipinos who are returning to the Philippines through the government's repatriation efforts. They will still have to undergo quarantine and testing protocols on arrival.