Philippines implements travel ban from Indonesia

Indonesia has been added to the countries where the Philippines has implemented a travel ban due to their increasing cases of COVID-19 in recent days.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a 14 -day travel ban for those coming from Indonesia with a travel history in the said country.

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According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the travel ban will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 16, 2021, and will end at 11:59 p.m. on July 31, 2021.

Those on the trip who will reach the start of the travel ban before 12:01 a.m. of July 16 will be allowed to enter the country but must undergo full 14-day facility quarantine and show a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) result.

“This action is undertaken to prevent the further spread and community transmission of COVID-19 variants in the Philippines,” said Roque.

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So far, there have been 2.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia, which has increased in recent days with the increase in infection.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the IATF recommended the travel ban in response to the situation in Indonesia.

Philippines implements travel ban from Indonesia

Based on the 7-day average cases, the trend of the Philippines and Indonesia can be seen to be similar.

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So we have to be more careful in this situation, especially since the cases are still higher today than before the surge.

“Hindi talaga magandang nagpa-plateau ang bansa at such a high level. Kasi 5,000 cases are still 5,000. Mataas pa rin siya,” said Edson Guido, head of  Data Analytics.

“Kapag sa 5,000 ka tinamaan ng surge which is now made even worse by the presence ng mas nakakahawang Delta variant… hindi talaga magiging maganda ang magiging resulta nito,” he added.

If there is any good news, it is in the better position of the Philippines compared to Indonesia, Malaysia, and  when it comes to the trend of cases.

The Philippines had earlier imposed travel restrictions on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, which were extended until July 31 also due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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