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MANILA: Churches in Manila will be closed, dining inside restaurants will be prohibited, and leisure travel outside the Philippine capital will be limited under new COVID-19 rules introduced on Sunday (March 21) as the country fights a resurgence. of infections.
The number of new cases has surpassed 7,000 for three days in a row, the highest since the start of the pandemic, bringing the country’s number of cases to more than 663,000 and depleting hospitals.
About half of the active cases are in Metro Manila, where many of the 12 million inhabitants live in poor and overcrowded neighborhoods.
“We have two goals: to reduce the transmission of the virus in Metro Manila and to prevent the spread of the virus, especially the newer variants, outside of Metro Manila because we know they are more transmissible,” said presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
The new rules will be in effect for two weeks starting Monday and will also apply to the surrounding provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan.
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Public transportation will continue to function and workers will be able to travel as long as the government fails to impose another devastating blockade on the economic heart of the country.
But nonessential travel in and out of the destination region is banned, a blow to tour operators already battling for the Easter holidays, when many Filipinos flock to the country’s beaches and mountains.
“We know that some of you have plans and are looking forward to this Easter break, but if we allow unhindered travel at this time, new variants of the virus will spread faster in different parts of the Philippines,” Roque said.
The independent research group OCTA called on Saturday for “drastic and immediate action” to curb the spread of the virus.
His current model shows that hospital beds, including intensive care, in the capital will be full by the first week of April.
Selective closures, strict night curfews, a stay-at-home order for all children and a ban on foreigners from entering the country have been introduced in recent weeks, but infections continue to rise.
The increase has been attributed to poor compliance with health protocols and the most contagious coronavirus strains that are taking hold.
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