MANILA — The Philippines is extending until the end of June a travel ban that aims to keep out the Delta COVID-19 variant first detected in India, Malacañang said on Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte "approved the extension of travel restrictions imposed upon India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, and Oman starting June 16 to June 30, 2021," his spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.

The World Health Organization has classified the Delta variant, first identified in India, as a variant of global concern.

• Coronavirus variants can evade antibodies by spreading via supercells – new research
• 2 COVID shots effective against India variant - English health body
• Indian COVID -19 variant found in at least 53 territories: WHO

Infections peaked in India in May with about 400,000 new cases a day but that dropped to 70,421 new infections reported on Monday, the lowest daily increase since March 31, health ministry data showed.

The number of deaths went up by 3,921, the data showed.

• Exhaustion and fear for India's frontline doctors in COVID battle

India has had the second-highest tally of COVID-19 infections in the world after the United States, with 29.51 million cases and 374,305 deaths, according to ministry data.

Hospitals in Delhi struggled to provide oxygen cylinders and beds to patients last month as infections surged but earlier this month, the city allowed businesses to bring back 50 percent of employees and they partially resumed public transport.

The Philippines previously recorded cases of the Delta variant, the Alpha variant first detected in Britain, and the Beta variant that originated from South Africa, as well as a homegrown P.3 variant.

• WHO switches to Greek alphabet for virus variant names

— With a report from Reuters

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv