Philippines Unlikely to Keep Lockdown Despite Surging Infections
By Andreo Calonzo
The Philippines will unlikely keep its capital and nearby areas under strict lockdown despite coronavirus infections rising by another daily record to over 136,000.
The government has ran out of resources for aid to poor families, and has to allow people to go back to work, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday. The two-week lockdown ending August 18 was declared to accommodate health workers who said hospitals were already getting overwhelmed, he said.
The Philippines is battling a virus outbreak that’s already the worst in the region, while trying to boost its economy that plunged into recession last quarter.
© 2020 Bloomberg L.P.
