The Philippine government on Tuesday evening (April 27) imposed a temporary travel ban on passengers from India amid the detection of a new variant and the surge of cases in the south Asian country.
“All travelers coming from India, or those with travel history to India within the last 14 days preceding arrival, shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines beginning 0001H of April 29, 2021, until May 14, 2021,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced.
“Inaprubahan po ng ating Presidente ang rekomendasyon ng IATF na i-ban ang lahat ng pasahero, kasama po ang mga Pilipino, na galing po sa India,” Roque added.
Passengers arriving before April 29 will not be covered by the restriction. However, they are required to “undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols” or the absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period despite a negative RT-PCR test result.
The official said the Office of the President may also consider imposing travel restrictions due to the emergence of new covid-19 variants, upon the recommendation of the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Moreover, the Department of Transportation was ordered to tighten the enforcement of the existing travel restriction through measures such as prohibiting airline passengers from boarding unless they are being repatriated by the government. – OPS/AG-jlo
