Philippines bans travellers from France to prevent Omicron spread

Medical workers in protective suits administer vaccines at a coliseum in Makati City, suburban Manila on Nov 29, 2021, as the Southeast Asian nation launched a three-day vaccination drive targeting nine million people as young as 12 in an effort to accelerate the roll-out of jabs, amidst the threat of heavily mutated coronavirus variant Omicron.

MANILA: The Philippines will ban travellers coming from France to prevent the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, the presidential office said on Wednesday.

The ban, which applies to everyone who has been in France in the past 14 days, runs from Dec 10 to Dec 15.

This adds to an earlier ban on travellers from South Africa and 13 other countries to prevent Omicron, which has yet to be detected in the Philippines.