MANILA – The Philippines has extended its travel ban on all arrivals from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates until June 30, said presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday.
In a statement reported by the Xinhua news agency, he said President Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension to prevent the spread of a highly infectious variant of Covid-19.
The Philippines initially imposed travel restrictions on India from April 29 due to the virus surge in the South Asian country.
Manila then widened the ban to include travellers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka from May 7.
It also barred arrivals from Oman and the UAE on May 15 after Filipino workers overseas who flew in from these countries tested positive for the virus variant first detected in India.
The Philippines reported a total of 1,322,053 Covid-19 infections as of yesterday, including 22,845 fatalities. – Bernama, June 15, 2021
