Duterte extends metro lockdown, India travel ban

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night extended the general lockdown in Manila, the capital and nearby cities and provinces for two more weeks until June 15, with thousands of Filipinos still getting infected with the coronavirus daily.

The general community quarantine with heightened restrictions will also apply to the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite, the President said in a late-night televised speech.

Mr. Duterte also extended the travel ban on India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates until June 15, his spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said in a separate statement.

Baguio City and the provinces of Kalinga, Mountain Province and Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will remain under a general lockdown. So will the provinces Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in the Cagayan Valley region in northern Philippines.

Also under a general lockdown are the provinces of Batangas and Quezon in Southern Tagalog and Iligan City, Davao City, Lanao Del Sur and Cotabato City in southern Philippines.

Meanwhile, Santiago City and the provinces of Cagayan, Apayao, Benguet, and Ifugao in the north will be placed under a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine from June 1 to 15.

Also placed under the second strictest lockdown are Puerto Princesa City, Iloilo City, Butuan City, Cagayan de Oro City, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga Del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte.

Coronavirus infections in Metro Manila were “plateauing,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said at the same briefing. The infection rate in Mindanao, on the other hand, was rising, he said.

The Health department reported 6,684 coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the total to 1.23 million. The death toll rose by 107 to 20,966, while recoveries increased by 6,098 to 1.16 million, it said in a bulletin.