MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines will extend stricter COVID-19 rules to include four provinces around the capital Manila, limiting travel to and from these areas for two weeks from Monday, as the country faces a renewed increase in infections. fight.
The restrictions currently in place in Metropolitan Manila will also be imposed in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, including curfews and the ban on mass gatherings, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Sunday.
Only essential trips to and from the capital region and the four provinces, which Roque called the bubble area, are allowed.
“This is not a harsh exclusion,” he said in a virtual briefing. “But we have additional restrictions.”
Meetings are allowed for weddings, baptisms and funeral services, but are limited to a maximum of 10 people.
Travel will remain unimpeded within the bubble area, but only individuals aged 18-65 will be allowed outside.
Travel to and from the bubble area is limited to health and emergency services, government officials and government staff, those traveling for medical and humanitarian reasons, and those traveling to the airport to travel abroad.
Restaurants will remain open, but only for delivery, take-out and outside services.
The Philippines recorded 7,757 additional COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the second-highest one-day increase in the Southeast Asian country, and it is the third consecutive day that new cases have been confirmed to rise above 7,000.
The total number of recorded cases in the Philippines rose to 663,794, while confirmed deaths reached 12,968, one of the highest in Asia.
The health department has urged the public to ensure that the minimum standards for public health are met, which include wearing masks, even at home if not alone.
(Reported by Enrico Dela Cruz; edited by Kim Coghill, Sam Holmes and David Evans)