Partial restrictions to stay on capital as Philippines tackles coronavirus
16 June, 2020
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said over Mon (Jun 15) partial constraints would remain in place in the capital Manila for another fourteen days since the threat from the brand new coronavirus was even now present.
But Duterte reinstated strict lockdown guidelines in Cebu Town, the country's fifth most populous city, following a rise in new attacks there.
"The battle against COVID-19 is not but over," Duterte said in an address late on Mon.
Limitations were further eased found in provinces and places with low conditions of the virus to greatly help restore business activity found in the Southeast Asian market, which is expected to shrink for the first time in even more than two decades this year.
The lockdown in the administrative centre, Manila, which was among the world's longest and strictest, was relaxed on Jun 1 to reduce the economic harm of the pandemic.
The relaxed rules, which allowed the reopening of more industries, some public transportation and movement in and out of Manila, were set to expire on Jun 15.
Schools, universities and holiday destinations, however, will remain closed, while stay-at-residence orders will remain for older people and children,
"We are steadily easing restrictions to make way for our economical viability as people and as a country, but it will not mean we will forget our minimum amount health benchmarks," Duterte said.
On Monday, restaurants in the capital were permitted to reopen dine-in solutions but on a limited scale, to permit more workers to return to work.
The country's unemployment rate surged to an archive 17.7 per cent in April as millions shed their jobs as a result of lockdown.
While the capital makes up about half of the country's 26,420 confirmed coronavirus cases, authorities have recorded a spike in the amount of infections in Cebu City after curbs were steadily eased there.
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