Tourists are no longer allowed to enter world-famous Boracay Island after Aklan was placed under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) by the national government starting Sunday, Aug. 1, due to rising COVID-19 cases.

"Under MECQ, no leisure travel is allowed," said Mayor Frolibar Bautista of Malay, where Boracay is located.

The local government of Malay waited for the release of the executive order issued by Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores that stated that leisure travel is temporarily banned.

"But there are still tourists here. They are the tourists who arrived before Aug. 1," Bautista said Monday, Aug. 2.

Bautista said tourists from Metro Manila as well as Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal can still fly back as return flights are still allowed by the national government.

"They (tourists already in Boracay) can finish their scheduled vacations or they can already leave. It's up to them," Bautista added.

Aklan was placed under MECQ after being classified as high-risk by the Department of Health (DOH).

As of Aug. 1, there were 2,060 active cases of COVID-19 in the 17 towns of Aklan.