President Duterte has approved the travel restrictions for all travelers coming from Indonesia from July 16 to 31, 2021 to prevent the further spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) variants in the country.
On Wednesday, July 14, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement that the restrictions will cover travelers with travel history to Indonesia within the last 14 days preceding their arrival in the Philippines.
The travel ban will start on July 16, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. until July 31, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.
Passengers already in transit from Indonesia, and all those who have been there within 14 days immediately and will arrive before July 16, may still be allowed to enter the country but will be required to undergo a full 14-day facility quarantine notwithstanding a negative Reverse Transcription - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) result.
Roque said Duterte's decision to approve imposing restrictions on travelers from Indonesia was made to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
"This action is undertaken to prevent the further spread and community transmission of COVID-19 variants in the Philippines," he said.
Indonesia joined seven other countries in the Philippines' travel ban list.
On Wednesday, Roque said the government has extended the travel restrictions on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates until July 31, 2021.
The Delta variant first detected in India was reported to have paved the way for the deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections in the said country.
OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye said the Delta variant entering the Philippines was now a matter of "when" and not "if."
According to Roque, the government was continuously preparing should the Delta variant spread in the Philippines.