MANILA, July 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines will ban the entry of travellers coming from Malaysia and Thailand in a bid to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta COVID-19 variant, the presidential spokesperson said on Friday (Jul 23).

The travel restriction will take effect on Jul 25 and run to Jul 31, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a national address. The Philippines has previously banned travellers from eight countries including Indonesia and India.