Travel ban on passengers from seven countries extended again--BI
By Jun Ramirez
The government has extended anew the travel ban on passengers coming from seven Asian and Middle Eastern countries up to July 15 as a precautionary measure against the deadly and highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases stretched the travel restriction after seeing how the disease variant caused havoc in India, where it originated. It has since spread to six neighboring states.
These countries are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The BI chief said that existing guidelines governing the passenger arrivals from these countries shall be observed.
"Foreigners coming from these countries will be denied entry and sent back to their port of origin," Morente said.
He said, however, that Filipinos arriving from the these countries will be allowed entry as part of the repatriation efforts of the government and the private sector.
Meanwhile, BI port operations chief Carlos Capulong clarified that the latest IATF resolution also allowed passengers who have been fully vaccinated to undergo seven-day quarantine.
"Hence, they would need to present their seven-day hotel booking as well as proof of vaccination to the BI before clearance," he added.
In the same resolution, the IATF tasked the Bureau of Quarantine office at the airport to verify the vaccination papers of arriving passengers.
Current IATF guidelines allow the entry of Filipinos and "balikbayans" with valid visas, except those coming from the seven restricted countries.