INBOUND travelers from Indonesia will no longer be allowed to enter the country starting on Friday as part of the Philippine government’s precautions to prevent the local spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
In a statement on Wednesday, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque confirmed President Duterte had approved the imposition of travel restriction for Indonesia after it surpassed India as the epicenter in Asia of incidents of Covid-19, which is caused by SARS-Cov-2.
Roque said the restriction will apply on all travelers coming from Indonesia or those with travel history to Indonesia within the last 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines.
“Beginning 12:01 AM of July 16, 2021 until 11:59 PM of July 31, 2021, such travelers shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines,” Roque said.
He noted that passengers who are already in transit before the travel restriction takes effect on Friday will still be allowed to enter the country provided they undergo the “full 14-day facility quarantine notwithstanding a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction [RT-PCR] result.”
The same protocol will also apply to all those who have been in Indonesia within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines.
Aside from Indonesia, the country has imposed a travel restriction for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arabi Emirates (UAE), and Oman due to the presence of the Delta variant in those countries.