MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine capital Manila will include a two-week ban on minors leaving their residence, including youths up to the age of 18, starting Wednesday, and tightening restrictions on the coronavirus in an effort to ‘ to tackle a new upsurge of infections.
Only those 18-65 years old will be allowed out of their homes, the Metro Manila Development Authority said in a statement, citing an agreement between mayors.
The Philippines began facilitating one of the world’s longest and strictest exclusions late last year, although a rule requiring anyone under 15 to stay indoors in Manila remains in place.
The country in Southeast Asia experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases this month, with the largest daily increase since mid-August Monday with 5,404 new infections.
The night clock has been re-established for two weeks since Monday in Metropolitan Manila, the country’s coronavirus hotspot with more than 12 million people.
Additional measures such as liquor bans and localized closures in areas with high infection rates have also been introduced.
The extended age limit comes five months after the government allowed people aged 15 to 65 to leave as part of efforts to revive an economy that suffered the worst setback last year.
Carlito Galvez, head of the coronavirus strategy, has criticized a slow vaccination campaign, saying more doses should come soon.
As of early April, nearly 2.4 million doses are expected, consisting of 979,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility and 1.4 million Sinovac shots, including 400,000 donated by China, he said.
Galvez said there was no plan to stop the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to vaccinate health workers, although several European countries have halted its administration following reports of possible serious side effects.
The government has also entered into an agreement with the Serum Institute of India for 30 million doses of Novavax vaccine, which would arrive in the third or fourth quarter of the year, Galvez said.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz and Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies)