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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is currently addressing the compliance related issues and an economic package covering issues of concern to the industry would be announced separately later.
Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government on Wednesday deployed over 12,000 mobile vans, e-rickshaws, and 'thelas' (handcarts) to ensure doorstep delivery of food items during the lockdown.
An unprecedented 60 per cent of Indians believe that the coronavirus threat is hyperbolized, even as the number of confirmed cases in the country surged past 400 on Monday.
In his first tweet after he was released former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it is a different world than what it existed on August 5, 2019 when Article 370 was revoked.
