Staff members wear protective masks in the boarding area of international flights at the Jorge Chavez International Airport, in the constitutional province of Callao, Peru, on March 6, 2020. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Xinhua)

 Peru extended the ban on flights to and from Europe for another 15 days on Wednesday to prevent the variant of the novel coronavirus from reaching the country.

The new decision was published on the Ministry of Transport and Communications website.

The original suspension was announced on Dec. 21 by Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti as part of measures to keep out the variant, which has yet to arrive in the South American country.

Although flights to some Latin American countries and the United States continue, Peru requires all travelers to show a negative COVID-19 test result administered within the last 72 hours prior to entering the country.

In addition, as of Jan. 4, international travelers, Peruvians and foreigners alike, must remain in mandatory quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Despite the fact that Peru has seen a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in several regions, including the capital Lima, authorities have ruled out a second wave, but do acknowledge a new outbreak.

As of Tuesday, Peru had a total of 1,022,018 cases and 37,925 deaths.