The Philippines has extended an ongoing travel ban for all inbound travellers from Pakistan, India and eight other countries till August 15, the Khaleej Times quotes the presidential spokesperson as saying.

In a statement, spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte approved the travel ban extension to curb the further spread and community transmission of Covid-19 variants in the country.

Aside from Pakistan, the nine other countries are Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The Southeast Asian country had initially imposed travel restrictions on India from April 29 due to the surge in Covid-19 infections in the country. Later it widened the ban to include travelers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from May 7, Xinhua news agency reports.