One southern Philippine province and its war-battered capital is to be placed under a mild lockdown next month and the rest of the nation under more relaxed restrictions to boost the battered economy of the country with the most COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced the quarantine restrictions for next month in televised remarks on Monday.
Lanao del Sur province and its capital, Marawi, are to fall under a lockdown starting tomorrow due to infection spikes.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Most of Marawi’s commercial and downtown areas were destroyed after hundreds of Islamic State group-aligned militants laid siege to the city in May 2017, and the military launched a massive offensive and airstrikes to quell the five-month uprising.
Many residents remain displaced, now staying with relatives or in temporary housing units.
Duterte and officials did not provide more specifics on Marawi, but a mild lockdown would restrict most residents at home, except for medical emergencies, buying food and other essential trips.
Shopping malls and other vital businesses would operate partially, but leisure and entertainment centers would be closed.
Metropolitan Manila and five other cities are to remain under general quarantine restrictions, with more businesses and public transport allowed to partially operate on condition people wear masks and observe social distancing.
Classes in public schools are scheduled to resume online belatedly on Monday next week.
The Philippines as of yesterday had recorded 307,288 cases of COVID-19 infection and 5,381 deaths.
In related news, unintended pregnancies in the Philippines could spike by almost a half to 2.6 million if lockdowns remain until the end of the year, the UN Population Fund said.
Quarantine measures are also causing 60 additional maternal deaths a month, as restrictions prevent 2 million more women accessing family planning needs, the agency said, citing a study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute.
“These numbers are an epidemic in itself,” UN Population Fund gender program officer in the Philippines Aimee Santos said at a Senate hearing in Manila yesterday.
“These issues of women and children have largely remained invisible during the pandemic. It’s time to put them front and center,” said Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairwoman of the Women, Family Relations and Gender Equality Committee.
Hontiveros backed calls for more female officials in the nation’s COVID-19 task force.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS