Philippines to ban travel from Malaysia, Thailand over Delta variant

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – The Philippines on Friday announced extending its travel ban to Malaysia and Thailand to curb the spread of the contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

"Our president has also decided to include Malaysia and Thailand among the countries included in the travel ban," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced in a national address broadcast on state-run People's Television Network.

The travel restrictions will take effect as of Sunday through July 31, he said.

Travelers arriving from these countries before the ban comes into force will still be allowed in but will be asked to undergo a 14 -day quarantine.

Earlier, the Philippines has banned travelers from eight countries, including Indonesia, India and the United Arab Emirates.

More than 1.5 million COVID-19 cases, including nearly 27,000 fatalities, have been recorded thus far in the Southeast Asian country.

It has registered 47 infections with the Delta variant and three deaths.

- Active coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia top 1M

The number of active coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia has topped the one million mark.

Late Thursday, member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reported a cumulative tally of 1,029,758.

Indonesia, the hardest-hit country in the region, has recorded over 561,000 active cases, followed by Malaysia with 142,000 cases.

Thailand ranks third with 137,058 cases and Myanmar stands forth with 70,070 cases.

Brunei Darussalam becomes the ASEAN country with the least active cases as it has reported only 41 cases.

Meanwhile, more than 132 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the region.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta.