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The mayor of Manila, former actor Francisco Domagoso, banned the daytime use of “karaokes, videokes and other sound-producing devices” starting Thursday, following complaints from angry parents homeschooling their children amid the pandemic.
Domagoso said his office had received several calls from parents saying their children were unable to concentrate with the noise.
“I pity our parents and students who are trying to get through online education while being disturbed by the karaoke noise in the background,” Domagoso, more popularly known by his movie name Isko Moreno, told the New York Times.
Sound machines have long been a plague among Manila’s tight communities. The hobby, however, has gained new popularity in recent times, and many have started singing to drive away the boredom of isolation.
Mr. Domagoso said that those caught violating the ordinance would be fined up to 3,000 pesos (about $ 61).
On Thursday, 144 people were reported dead in the Philippines, bringing the country’s death toll to 6,069, one of the highest in the region. More than 2,300 new cases were also reported, with the total number of cases now at 331,869, according to the Department of Health.
Much of the country has remained under lockdown, although the government has gradually begun to open up tourism and other parts of the economy.
In other developments around the world:
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the European Union signed an agreement with Gilead, the California-based pharmaceutical company, to ensure uninterrupted access to an antiviral drug used to treat Covid-19. Veklury, also known as remdesivir, has been licensed by more than 50 countries, including the United States and Europe, for the treatment of Covid-19 patients who need supplemental oxygen. The agreement signed between Gilead and the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, would allow all members of the European Union, as well as the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and several Balkan countries to buy up to 500,000 treatments. in the next six months.
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Poland will make face masks mandatory in public spaces starting Saturday in response to a second day of record case numbers, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced Thursday. “The second wave has caught up with us and we must confront it decisively,” Morawiecki said. The new rule will not apply in forests, parks and beaches. Poland had implemented a lockdown early in the pandemic, but eased restrictions during the summer and bars and restaurants remain open.
