WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
How many people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Philippines? How many have recovered, and how many have died? What is President Rodrigo Duterte doing about it?
What are the latest updates from the World Health Organization regarding the vaccines? How is the Department of Health addressing the variants? What should the public expect in terms of the economy, quarantine classifications, and the vaccine rollout?
Bookmark and refresh this page for the latest news updates, opinion articles, and analysis pieces about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
LATEST UPDATES
BREAKING NEWS: Metro Manila under ECQ from August 6 to 20
JUST IN. Metro Manila to go under GCQ with heightened and additional restrictions July 30 to August 5, and then ECQ from August 6 to 20. | via @piaranada
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) July 30, 2021
More soon on https://t.co/Vp7vhLQFvY. pic.twitter.com/cr7DX3MnK2
Malacañang: No enforcement yet of Duterte order to keep unvaccinated people home
Malacañang clarified that the government will not yet enforce President Rodrigo Duterte’s wish that police and barangay officials make sure unvaccinated persons remain at home.
“Not yet,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday, July 29, during a Palace press briefing.
Here is the full story.
Gov’t to give aid to poor in ECQ areas Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Gingoog
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the distribution of cash assistance to certain individuals or households in places under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), announced Malacañang on Thursday, July 29.
The aid distribution will cover Iloilo City and Iloilo province, as well as Cagayan de Oro City and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental province, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a Palace press conference.
WATCH: Queue of ambulances outside Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City
Queue of ambulances outside Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City on Thursday, July 29. Although gov’t data says hospital occupancy falls below 60%, EOC head City Councilor Joel Garganera admits three hospitals in the city are in the “critical stage”.pic.twitter.com/kyVug0XCLc
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) July 29, 2021
Philippine business leaders back lockdown in ‘ghost month’ August
Business leaders back proposals to impose a hard lockdown in August, also dubbed “ghost month,” as health experts and mathematicians cite the rising number of people contracting the Delta variant of COVID-19.
In a forum on Wednesday, July 28, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Exporters Confederation of the Philippines, and Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the government can implement a two-week strict lockdown in August to “decisively contain the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.”