Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is to place about 12 million people in Metro Manila on lockdown and largely suspend government work for a month in an effort to stop COVID-19 from spreading.
Duterte on Thursday said that he was suspending domestic travel to and from Metro Manila from Sunday to April 14, and restricting entry of travelers from nations that had recorded local transmissions of the coronavirus.
Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez, in a televised briefing yesterday, said that a 60-day price freeze on basic goods is in effect in Metro Manila to prevent a sharp rise in prices.
He assured that the delivery of food and basic supplies would remain unimpeded.
Duterte’s order, which leaked on social media hours before the announcement, triggered panic buying and sent people rushing to bus stations as they anticipated the restriction in movement.
“We don’t want to use that, afraid to say lockdown, but it is a lockdown,” Duterte said in a televised briefing on Thursday.
After his speech, the Philippine Department of Health announced that three more people had died of the coronavirus, bringing the death toll to five out of 52 confirmed cases.
Duterte encouraged private companies to adopt flexible work arrangements and lifted a ban on overseas workers traveling to China — except Hubei Province, the epicenter of the pandemic.
Philippine Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning Ernesto Pernia said that the lockdown’s impact on economic growth would be “minimal and ephemeral.”
Philippine Secretary of Agriculture William Dar told reporters that the department was working with local governments to ensure availability of food in Metro Manila.
He said the nation’s inventory of rice was good for 80 days.
“During times of crisis like this coronavirus epidemic, people want to be reassured our leaders know what they are doing,” Philippine Star columnist Boo Chanco wrote.
Schools are to remain shut until April 12 and public gatherings prohibited, while local government officials have been empowered to impose community to province-wide quarantines.
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