As of July 29, an additional 97 Delta variant cases were reported in the Philippines, bringing the country’s total case count of the more infectious coronavirus to 216.
The Philippines has extended the travel ban on travelers from India and nine other countries until August 15 to prevent the further spread of the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19.
President Rodrigo Duterte, upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), decided to continue prohibiting the entry of travelers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force to extend the travel restrictions currently imposed (on) 10 countries starting August 1 until August 15, 2021,” Roque, also acting as IATF-EID spokesperson, said in a press statement issued Friday (July 30).
The decision came amid the upward trend in Delta variant cases in the country.
As of July 29, an additional 97 Delta variant cases were reported in the Philippines, bringing the country’s total case count of the more infectious coronavirus to 216.
About 88 of the 97 new Delta variant cases are local cases, six are returning overseas Filipinos, and three others are still being verified.
Of the 97 new cases, 94 have been tagged as recovered and three were fatalities.
In a pre-recorded Talk to the People aired on Monday, Duterte emphasized the need to “double-time” the vaccination of more Filipinos amid the presence of the Delta variant, which he said is “causing so much scary stories” because it is “more aggressive” than the original variant. (ONT/With report from PNA)
Tags: #Covid19, #Deltavariant, #travelban