Philippines extends travel ban on India, 9 other nations
Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Aug, 2021 11:07 AM
Manila, Aug 13 (IANS) The Philippines has extended its travel ban for all inbound travellers from India and nine other nations until August 31 as cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant have continued to spike across the Southeast Asian country, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.
The Delta variant has spread in the Philippines, where 627 cases have been reported, including 11 deaths, reports Xinhua news agency.
Aside from India where the Delta variant was first detected, the Philippines also banned travellers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, 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 fueled 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.
According to Swaminathan, B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in India last Fall, was a contributing factor in the COVID explosion that India is witnessing right now.
He said that the "endgame" in fighting the pandemic is vaccinating everyone. At the same time, he said that all of India should "shut down", as some states have done.
There is desparate struggle for oxygen and there is a major shortage of hospital beds. Crematoriums and morgues are packed and can't keep up with the constant flow of corpses coming in.
Social media is flooded with desparate pleas from people for oxygen for their loved ones while others have no option but to circle hospitals in the capital Delhi while begging for a bed.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee & National Spokesman of the Akali Dal shared a celebratory tweet on Sidhu's release along with pictures and video on Instagram.
