MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines reported the biggest leap in new coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia for a moment directly on Friday, as its president prolonged restrictions on the capital to curb the spread and promised normality would return in December.
President Rodrigo Duterte, in a televised speech, also said that the Philippines would prioritise China’s breakthrough with a COVID-19 vaccine and that the poorest Filipinos would be treated first.
This month, the Philippines recorded the largest accumulation of coronavirus deaths in the region and Friday, their largest buildup in new cases at the moment on a consecutive day, with 4,063 infections adding tension to flooded hospitals and frontline fitness workers.
The Capital Region, the southern provinces and some central locations continue to be subject to restrictions on internal displacement, restrictions on the elderly and children and some advertising activities.
“My prayer is even more. Many have become infected,” Duterte said.
The blockades imposed in mid-March are among the strictest and longest in the world, and have had a negative effect on the country’s generally fast-growing economy, and gross domestic product is expected to decline from 2% to 3.4% this year. , the first contraction in more than two decades.
On 1 June, measures were taken to bring the industry to life and stop losses, but infections have since quintupled to 93,354, and deaths have more than doubled to 2,023.
The Duterte Coronavirus Working Group said it would close the spaces where instances have accumulated, while urging the government and personal hospitals to increase bed capacity.
Manila, an urban sprawl of 16 villages that is home to at least thirteen million people, accounts for more than part of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Duterte also promised loose vaccines if they were to have them later this year and said priority would be given to the poor, followed by the middle and security forces.
“I promise you that until December, by the grace of God, we will return to normal,” Duterte said.
Pharmaceutical companies in countries such as China, the United States and Britain are conducting vaccine trials.
Duterte said Monday that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to make the Philippines the first to obtain vaccines.
The Philippines would buy 40 million doses for $400 million for 20 million people, or about a fifth of its 107 million inhabitants, finance secretary Carlos Dominguez said.
“Once the vaccine is available, we can open it completely,” Dominguez said.
Edited through Ed Davies and Martin Petty
All quotes were delayed for at least 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of transactions and delays.
© 2020 Reuters. All rights are reserved.