MANILA, Sep 04 (DNA): The Philippines has moved to lift the travel ban
for all inbound travelers from Pakistan and nine other countries from
September 6, presidential spokesperson announced Saturday.

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the
country’s COVID-19 task force to lift the travel restrictions on the
in-bound passengers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

“International travelers coming from the above mentioned countries
shall, however, comply with the 14 days quarantine,” presidential
spokesperson said in a statement.

The foreign tourists are still banned from entering the Philippines
except those holding special visas such as diplomats and foreign spouses
of Filipino citizens.

The local transmission of the Delta variant has spread to communities in
the country. The World Health Organization confirmed the community
transmission of the Delta variant, saying it is now the dominant
COVID-19 strain spreading in the Philippines.

In April, the Philippines had imposed ban on India and later expanded it
to include the nine other countries with Delta cases.

The Philippines has reported a total of 2,040,568 confirmed COVID-19
cases as of Friday, including 33,873 deaths. DNA

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