The Philippines has added Malaysia and Thailand to the list of countries whose travelers will be subjected to restrictions as part of efforts to curb the spread of the more infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 and other variants of concern.
The travel ban on arrivals from Malaysia and Thailand will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 25 and will last until 11:59 p.m. on July 31, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said at the Laging Handa briefing on Friday.
“This action is undertaken to prevent the further spread and community transmission of COVID-19 variants in the Philippines,” he said.
According to Roque, passengers who may still enter the Philippines are those in transit from any of those two countries or who have visited those countries within 14 days before their arrival in the Philippines at any date before July 25.
But these passengers would have to undergo a full 14-day facility quarantine even if they get a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test result, he said.
Other flights
Repatriation flights and special commercial flights for Filipinos are exempted from the travel restrictions. But Roque said passengers in these flights must still follow the prescribed testing and quarantine protocols.
The Philippines included Malaysia and Thailand in its travel ban following reports of a surge in Delta variant cases in those countries.
On July 16, a travel ban was imposed on Indonesia, which has become the new coronavirus epicenter in Asia with tens of thousands being infected daily.
Before that, the Philippines imposed restrictions on arrivals from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.