Travelers from India and nine other countries are still barred from entering the Philippines until the end of August, Malacañang announced Friday.
This, after President Rodrigo Duterte, upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), extended the travel restrictions imposed on travelers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force to extend the current travel restrictions in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia from August 16 to August 31, 2021,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.
The extended travel ban came amid the threat posed by the more infectious Delta coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) variant that was first detected in India.
Meantime, the IATF-EID has also approved the airlines’ request to resume international transit hub operations, Roque said.
“These international transit hub operations shall be limited to airside transfers between Terminals 1 and 2, and within Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and further limited for countries/jurisdictions/territories in the Green List,” Roque, also acting as IATF-EID spokesperson, said.
Roque said there must be a strict observance of protocols for the controlled movement of passengers and health and safety protocols within the terminals.
Any traveler who may exhibit symptoms should comply with isolation and quarantine protocols which should be for the account of the sponsoring airlines, Roque said.
“Having said this, the IATF directed the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Bureau of Quarantine, and the Bureau of Immigration to formulate the necessary protocols for the issuance of appropriate visas applicable on a case-to-case basis,” he said.
