MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is lifting a coronavirus ban on travellers from 10 countries, including Pakistan, his spokesperson said on Saturday.
The ban, introduced in April then expanded to more countries in July to prevent the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, will be lifted on Monday, Harry Roque said in a statement.
Travellers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will have to spend 14 days in quarantine upon arrival, Roque said.
The Philippines, with 111 million inhabitants, is the second country with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, which exceeds 4 million.
In August, authorities imposed a third confinement on 13 million residents of capital Manila, barring them from leaving other than for hospital or grocery trips.
The city, which is the country’s pandemic epicentre, has endured one of the world’s longest lockdowns. It was under strict confinement between March and August last year, when some measures were relaxed, and again between March and April, when the 15,000 new daily infections were reported.
The Philippines is one of the places that exports the most health workers to the rest of the world, but in the country, professionals in the sector denounce a lack of personnel and means to face the pandemic.
