The Philippines has extended a ban on travellers from Bangladesh and nine other countries to August 31 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, where the variant has spread.
However, the country will allow returning overseas Filipino workers under its repatriation programme, but they will be isolated for 14 days upon their arrival.
Read: Bangladesh reports 197 new deaths as it fails to take hold on Covid
The Philippines is grappling with soaring Covid-19 infections fueled 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 April 27, was later expanded to include Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman, and the UAE.
On July 16, the country added Indonesia to the list, followed by Malaysia and Thailand on July 25. The ban was set to expire on Sunday, but the government extended it until August 31.