Manila Mayors Agree To Temporarily Close Internet Cafes To Preven COVID Spread
MANILA MAYORS ON COVID SPIKE– Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, its 17 Mayors agreed to temporarily close operations of gyms, spas, and internet cafes.
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said establishments such as these may continue to run under limited capacity if local government units agreed. But, Mayors of the Metro decided to shut them down for 2 weeks.
On Monday, the government began another round of strict lockdowns in Manila. This time, it’s called NCR plus. Here, only essential travel to and from the Metro and the four nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal is allowed.
Yesterday, the Philippines recorded a new all-time-high number of daily COVID-19 cases with 8,019 infections. However, Roque believed that with the new NCR plus, COVID-19 cases would be cut down to 25%.
But, as it stands, hospital capacity has reached critical level in key areas due to the recent COVID-19 surge. With this, the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country now nears 700,000. Currently, the country has documented 671,792 cases. Of this number, 12.972 have succumbed to the deadly disease.
According to OCTA research group, the new COVID-19 variants had a high impact on the increased number of cases. Prior to this, the government also eased travel restrictions and reopened the economy.
But, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, reopening the economy wasn’t the reason for the surge. He emphasized that “Secret Parties” where people didn’t follow minimum health protocols was a bigger factor than opening the economy to millions of Filipinos amid a pandemic.
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