Filipinos coming from India will also not be allowed to return to the Philippines, in accordance with the temporary travel ban that the government will enforce starting Thursday.
According to the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, the travel ban of those coming from India will take effect from 12:01 a.m., April 29 [Thursday], and will end on May 14.
Those on the trip before the start of the travel ban will be allowed to enter the Philippines.
“Napagdesisyunan that even our fellow Filipinos, hindi muna natin papapasukin for this temporary period,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in an online briefing.
“This is just so that we can be able to ensure na ma-guard natin ‘yung borders natin,” she added.
The travel ban was implemented due to the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases in India. Experts suspect that the new coronavirus variant B.1.617, described as a “double mutant,” is among the reasons for the increase in virus infection in India.
The virus is said to be more contagious and has reached 17 countries.
Filipinos from India included in temporary travel ban – DOH
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is preparing to strictly enforce the travel ban on those coming from India.
“We are conducting a 100% passport inspection to determine the travel history of an arriving person,” said BI port operations division acting chief Carlos Capulong.
“If we see that the traveler has been to India within the last 14 days, then he will be excluded and boarded on the next available flight back to his port of origin,” he said.
According to Vergeire, the Philippines aims to prevent a new variant of the virus from India from entering the country.
“Mag-iingat tayo kasi nakikita na natin ‘yung nangyayari sa kanila at ayaw na natin na magkaroon pa ng enabler ang ibang variants na pumasok dito sa ating bansa para makapag-cause pa ng further transmission ng sakit,” the official said.
On Tuesday, some Filipinos in India expressed their desire to return to the Philippines because they were worried about the situation in India due to COVID-19.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.