Coronavirus live news: Philippines locks down 13 million in Manila; Japan to expand state of emergency

Israel will be first country to give third Pfizer shot; Manila to be under tightest quarantine curbs from 6-20 August; Japan set to expand state of emergency

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday approved the imposition of lockdown measures in the capital region.

The Manila capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities home to more than 13 million people, will be placed under the tightest quarantine curbs from 6 August to 20 August.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a televised address. “While it is a painful decision, this is for the good of all.”

The lockdown will prevent people leaving their homes, except for essential shopping, while indoor and al fresco dining is banned.

The Philippines also extended a ban on travellers coming from 10 countries including India, Indonesia, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates to 15 August.

Already battling the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Asia, the Philippines has so far recorded over 1.57 million confirmed Covid cases and more than 27,000 deaths.

The country has reported 216 cases of the Delta variant, but health experts say there could be more undetected cases because of the slow pace of the country’s genome sequencing.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved lockdown measures in the Manila capital region, home to more than 13 million people. It comes after Duterte said on Thursday that officials should detain those who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid inside their homes. Legal experts said the move would be unconstitutional and reflected his “militaristic mindset”, after Duterte claimed responding to the pandemic was more important than laws guaranteeing freedom of movement

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Coronavirus | The Guardian

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