The Philippines has extended its travel ban for all inbound travellers from Sri Lanka and nine other nations until the 31st of August.
The President’s Office of the Philippines said the decision was taken since cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant has continued to spike across the country.
The Delta variant has spread in the Philippines, where 627 cases have been reported, including 11 deaths.
Apart from Sri Lanka, India where the Delta variant was first detected, the Philippines also banned travellers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
However, the country allows returning overseas Filipino workers under its repatriation program, but they will be isolated for 14 days upon the arrival.
The Philippines is grappling with soaring Covid-19 infections fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, prompting the government to re-impose a hard lockdown in Metro Manila and other regions.
The Philippines now has more than 1.7 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 29,539 deaths.
