Medical staff test patients for the Covid-19 coronavirus outside a hospital before they are admitted in Bekasi on June 27, 2021, as new infections spike in Indonesia. (Photo by Rezas / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The government is looking into the possibility of imposing a travel ban on Indonesia amid the threat of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.
“This is being studied by our technical advisory group of experts and I understand that there are already many countries where the Delta variant have invaded,” Duque told ABS-CBN News Channel when asked if the government will include Indonesia, which has been seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, in the travel curbs.
“In fact, the UK also has very high Delta variant cases but what is important is very stringent border control. The quarantine protocol has to be strictly enforced,” he added.
The Philippines earlier extended its travel restrictions on inbound travelers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman until July 15 over fears of the Delta variant that was first detected in India.
The travel restriction was supposed to end on Wednesday, June 30.
The Philippines has already detected 17 cases of the Delta variant, but these were detected in the country’s borders and not in communities.