Dozens of countries closed their borders to the Britain in recent weeks over rising cases of a variant that is believed to spread faster. The Philippines -- which has not yet detected the new variant -- was among them, and in yesterday's announcement it extended the ban to January 15. Foreigners have been largely banned from entering the country during the pandemic, but authorities recently started to allow entry to holders of certain types of visas. Filipinos returning home from countries on the list will be allowed to enter, but will have to undergo 14-days quarantine even if they test negative for Covid-19, he added. With more than 471,000 infections and 9,162 deaths, the Philippines has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases and casualties in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 29, 2020 15:22 UTC