Ban extended by two weeks

Safety precaution: Passengers wearing hazmat suits walking inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila. — Reuters

The government extended by two weeks a ban on travellers from more than 30 territories and countries where a more transmissible Covid-19 variant has been detected, with the restriction also now covering Filipinos who want to come home.

The South-East Asian country, which has recorded its first case of a new variant that was first found in Britain, has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases and casualties in the region, next to Indonesia.