The Philippines has extended a ban on travellers from Bangladesh and nine other countries until 31 August because of concerns posed by the highly contagious Delta variant of the Covid-19, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Friday.
Aside from India where the Delta variant was first detected, the Philippines also banned travellers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Oman, and the UAE, news agency UNB reports.
However, the country will allow returning overseas Filipino workers under its repatriation programme, but they will be isolated for 14 days upon their arrival.
The Philippines is grappling with soaring Covid-19 infections fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, prompting the government to reimpose a hard lockdown in Metro Manila and other regions.
The Philippines now has more than 1.7 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and 29,539 deaths.
The travel ban, first issued on 27 April, was later expanded to include Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman, and the UAE.
On 16 July, the country added Indonesia to the list, followed by Malaysia and Thailand on 25 July. The ban was set to expire on Sunday, but the government has extended it for another 17 days.