Philippines extends travel ban on 10 nations until Sept. 5

The national government on Tuesday extended travel restrictions for incoming travelers from at least 10 countries until September 5, 2021 amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque said a travel ban will still be imposed on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5 this year.

The travel ban was supposed to end this Tuesday, Aug. 31 but was extended to mitigate the spread of the variants.

"These travel restrictions form part of the proactive measures to slow down the rising number of COVID-19 cases, stop further spread of variants, and increase the country's existing healthcare capacity," Roque said in a press statement.—Consuelo Marquez/LDF, GMA News