The Department of Health (DOH) is looking into including Thailand and Malaysia in the travel ban list.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a Laging Handa public briefing on Thursday (July 15) that the department is studying to put Thailand and Malaysia under the said list due to the increasing number of COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the said countries.
“Tingnan natin halos 50 percent ng cases ay dahil sa Delta variant sa Malaysia.”
“Tinitingnan din ang Thailand, parang hindi mapigilan ang pag-angat ng Delta variant cases. May surveillance system na tayo dyan kung napapanahon na ang expanded travel ban sa mga additional countries,” he said.
He assured that the DOH-Epidemiology Bureau is continuously monitoring the outbreak in the mentioned Southeast Asian countries. He added that the involved authorities are conducting a two-week re-evaluation in the said countries.
The Delta variant is said to be more contagious than other variants. It was first discovered in India. Currently, the Philippines has no reports of Delta variant local transmission.
(PTV News)/NGS-rir
