President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the ban on the entry of travelers coming from India for two weeks starting April 29 amid the surge of coronavirus disease cases and deaths there, Malacanang said on Tuesday.

"All travelers coming from India or those with travel history to India within the last 14 days preceding arrival shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines beginning 0001H of April 29, 2021, until May 14, 2021," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

He said the passengers in transit from the India and all those who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before April 29, shall not be subject to the above restriction, "but shall nevertheless be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols."

These include, Roque said the observation of an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period notwithstanding a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) result.

He said restrictions as to travelers coming from other countries that report the new strain may be imposed by the Office of the President upon the joint recommendation of the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Roque said the Department of Transportation should ensure that airlines are directed not to allow the boarding of passengers entering the country pursuant to travel restrictions imposed by the OP and Inter-Agency Task Force resolutions except if they are part of the repatriation efforts of the national government.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the situation in India is "beyond heartbreaking" due to hundreds of thousands of people infected and increasing death toll due to COVID-19. Celerina Monte/DMS