Philippines coronavirus cases hit two-month high

MANILA, Philippines — Coronavirus cases in the Philippines hit a two-month high with the Department of Health reporting on Friday 8,562 new coronavirus infections, pushing the national total to 1,580,824.

• Active cases: 61,920 or 3.9% of the total
• Recoveries: 2,854, pushing total to 1,491,182
• Fatalities: 145, bringing death toll to 27,722

Fresh lockdown looms in Metro Manila over Delta

• The government has finally heeded calls to impose a fresh lockdown over Metro Manila ahead of a massive surge caused by the more infectious Delta variant.
   
• The capital region will be under an even stricter general community quarantine until August 5, where dining in and religious services, except funerals and burials, will be banned.
   
• It will then shift to enhanced community quarantine — the strictest quarantine regime — from August 6 to August 20 in a bid to avoid overwhelming hospitals.
   
• Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told Philstar.com that President Rodrigo Duterte wants the government to hand out aid, which will "most likely" amount to P1,000 per individual, or up to P4,000 per household.
   
• Earlier in the day, the Philippines received 1.5 million more doses of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech.
   
• Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian pledged Thursday that his government will be donating more vaccines to the Philippines, although he did not specify how much, what brand and when these would arrive.

Related Stories

LIVE updates: COVID-19 in the Philippines 2021