Philippines extends ban on travelers from 10 countries including UAE, Oman

The Philippines has extended the ban on travelers from 10 countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Oman, until August 15 as part of coronavirus countermeasures.

For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.

The countries from which travelers are banned are: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Passengers who transited through any of the banned countries will still be allowed to enter the Philippines, according to officials.

Coronavirus Coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine tourism: Which countries are offering inoculations to tourists?

The move is an effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant – a more contagious strain of the virus that was first detected in India and has now spread globally. The spike in cases in India’s neighboring countries, including Malaysia and Nepal, has been blamed on the variant.

The country recorded its first locally transmitted cases of the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant in early July. The Philippines has reported a total of 1,572,287 cases of COVID-19 and 27,577 virus-related deaths since the start of the outbreak.

Read more:

Philippines orders children back indoors as COVID-19 cases surge

Philippines detects first local transmission of Delta COVID-19 variant

President Duterte threatens to arrest Filipinos who refuse COVID-19 vaccination