Duterte Decides To Lockdown The Philippines From Spread Of COVID-19

Manila city illustration. Philippines (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, decided to 'lockdown' the entire area of the City of Manila. This will take effect from March 15 to April 14, following the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

Duterte said that during the quarantine period, most of the schools and government offices will be closed. Even though they are closed, shopping centers such as supermarkets and grocery stores will remain open.

Vital necessities such as drugstores, banks and health clinics will also remain open. A ban on mass gatherings will also be imposed during the lockdown period.

"The restrictions (of visits to the Philippines) will be imposed on those traveling from countries with local transmission, except for Filipino nationals including foreign spouses and children, holders of permanent residency visas, and holders of diplomatic visas," Duterte was quoted as saying. from the South China Morning Post, Monday, March 16.

Meanwhile, reported by Bloomberg, the Philippine Government also stopped operating casinos and gambling in Manila. Whereas for tourism places, they will be allowed to continue operating with a limited number of employees, while the rest are asked to stay in their respective homes.

According to the Ministry of Finance, existing banks in the Philippines, such as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, will also allow lenders to extend payment due dates and restructure credit for borrowers affected by COVID-19. The Philippines also received a grant from the Asian Development Bank of US $ 3 million to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Screenshot of the online map of the spread of the coronavirus (Johns Hopkins CSSE)

The Philippines' COVID-19 cases experienced a double-digit spike on Sunday March 15, the Ministry of Health reported that the total number of patients with the viral disease stood at 140.

The Health Ministry also reported that 29 new patients with COVID-19 were reported as of Sunday. Among them is a 13-year-old girl, who is the youngest COVID-19 patient in the country.

Thirteen of the new cases had no contact with COVID-19 sufferers and had no history of overseas travel. While 3 others were confirmed to have been in contact with someone with the virus. As many as 12 people in the Philippines died from COVID-19.