Virus sends Manila back to lockdown
Night curfews in place, public travel curtailed
MANILA, Philippines — Commuter trains, buses and other public vehicles stayed off the main roads of the Philippine capital Tuesday and police were again staffing checkpoints to restrict public travel as surging virus cases forced another lockdown.
Officials deployed dozens of shuttle buses, along with army trucks, to ferry stranded medical personnel and workers of authorized businesses. Most domestic flights to and from the capital were canceled, and night curfews will return in places.
Crowds trooped to some supermarkets Monday to stock up on food after the hasty return to a lockdown sparked panic-buying.
The lockdown is milder than was first one imposed, which largely confined most people to their homes for months, but is more severe than the quarantine restrictions the capital had been under recently. It is being imposed in metropolitan Manila and outlying provinces for two weeks.
Businesses previously allowed to partly reopen, including barbershops, gyms, dine-in restaurants and tourist destinations, will again be closed. Authorized companies including banks, health and food processing firms must shuttle their employees between home and work. Travel by bike, motorcycle and private car is allowed for essential reasons, but mass transit will be closed.
President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to reinstate the lockdown after medical groups warned the health care system was being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. Health officials reported a record-high daily tally of 6,352 new infections Tuesday, bringing the country’s total to more than 112,500, including 2,115 deaths. In other developments:
U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest disruption of education in history, with schools closed in more than
160 countries in mid-july, affecting over 1 billion students. In addition, the U.N. chief said at least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on education “in their critical preschool year.”
A New Zealand honeymoon couple stranded on the remote Falkland Islands in March because of the coronavirus returned home by hitching a ride of more than 5,000 nautical miles on an Antarctic fishing boat. Feeonaa Clifton said she had never spent even a single night on a boat before she and her husband, Neville, embarked on the monthlong voyage. After weeks spent watching albatrosses and learning how to don survival suits, they were finally able to set foot on land again Tuesday.
The number of passengers on a Norwegian cruise ship who have tested positive for the coronavirus has reached 43, authorities said Tuesday. The outbreak on the MS Roald Amundsen raised new questions about safety on cruise ships during the pandemic even as the industry is pressing to resume sailings after shutting down in March.
India’s daily increase in infections topped 50,000 for a seventh straight day. Tuesday’s spike of
52,050 cases recorded in the past 24 hours took the national total to 1,855,745, according to the Health Ministry database.
Two more patients have died in Vietnam’s outbreak, with an additional 10 people infected. The man and woman who died Tuesday were in their 60s and had kidney disease, the health ministry said.