PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the extension of travel restrictions on 10 countries until September 5, 2021 due to rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the Philippines, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

The 10 countries are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“These travel restrictions form part of the proactive measures to slow down the rising number of Covid-19 cases, stop further spread of variants, and increase the country’s existing healthcare capacity,” Roque said.

As of August 31, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded a total of 1,989,857 Covid-19 cases in the country with 145,562 active cases and 33,448 deaths.

The DOH said 1,789 Delta cases have so far been detected in the Philippines. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)