-
The Philippines extended its travel restrictions on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Oman until June 30, 2021
-
The extension aims to prevent the further spread of other variants of COVID-19 in the Philippines, according to Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 121 dated June 14
The Philippines has extended its travel restrictions on travelers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman until June 30, 2021.
Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Resolution No. 121 dated June 14 states that the extension aims to prevent the further spread of other variants of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
The Philippines initially imposed travel restrictions on India from April 29 to May 14 following the surge in COVID-19 cases in the South Asian country. On May 7, the travel ban was expanded to include Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Philippines on May 15 also banned international arrivals from Oman and the UAE after overseas Filipino workers that flew in from these countries tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first found in India.
However, the first two cases of the B.1617 variant from India were reported on May 11 involving two returning overseas Filipinos who had no travel history in India. A total of 13 people infected with the same variant have been detected in the Philippines since then.
The travel ban on these South Asian countries has since been extended further, with the previous extension imposed from June 1 to 15 now extended to June 30.
