4 more die as Philippines isolates Manila
MANILA: The Philippines recorded four additional coronavirus deaths and 29 new cases, bringing the domestic tally of infections to 140, as authorities placed the entire capital Manila under “community quarantine” for about a month beginning Sunday.
The latest deaths include an 86-year-old American male with travel history from the United States and South Korea, the Department of Health said in an advisory.
The other three are Filipinos, including the latest fatality. In total, 12 people have died from the virus in the country, according to the health department.
Domestic land, sea and air travel to and from Metro Manila is now restricted, while stringent measures to contain or prevent local transmission have been imposed in other parts of the Southeast Asian country.
Thousands of police officers and army troops started sealing the Philippines’ densely populated capital on Sunday at the start of one of Southeast Asia’s most drastic containment moves against the new coronavirus.
Under monthlong restrictions imposed in the entire Manila metropolis - home to more than 12 million people - residents are compelled to stay at home, except when they need to leave for work or go on urgent errands, including medical emergencies.
Police and soldiers set up checkpoints at entryways to Manila to check commuters for fever with thermal scanners on Sunday, snarling traffic all day.
The metropolis-wide restrictions involve the suspension of domestic travel by land, air and sea to and from the capital region. Large gatherings including concerts, movies, parties and cockfighting are prohibited.
Enforcement of the containment moves appeared lenient in some areas on Sunday, but officials said law enforcers would be stricter in the coming days.
Earlier in the day confusion marred the start of lockdown as policemen and soldiers implemented the order of President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte to seal off Metro Manila and its estimated 12 million residents from the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Highlighting the confusion was the resolution unanimously approved by the 17 mayors who attended the Metro Manila Deveopment Authority (MMDA) meeting to impose a nine-hour curfew from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am during the “community quarantine” or lockdown ordered by Duterte from March 15 to April 14.