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Manila to be placed under 2nd-highest Covid alert
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IANS | 14 Sep, 2021
The Philippines government will place Metro Manila, were over 13 million
people currently reside, under Covid-19 alert level 4, the
second-highest, from Thursday onwards due to increasing number of
confirmed cases.
Under alert level 4, the government will ramp up
active case finding, conduct risk-based testing using RT-PCR swab test,
and fast-track vaccination among high-risk groups, Health
Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday.
"There
will also be intensified granular lockdowns from barangay (the smallest
political unit in the Philippines) down to the household level to
contain the transmission," Xinhua news agency quoted Vergeire as saying
in a televised press conference.
Local government units will impose hard lockdowns for no less than 14 days on areas tagged as critical zones.
Vergeire said Metro Manila remains "at high-risk" due to high infections and high intensive care utilisation.
"Metro
Manila is currently a high-risk case classification as it maintains a
moderate risk two-week growth rate and high risk average daily attack
rate increased from 30.44 in the previous weeks to 39.09 per 100,000
population in the recent week," Vergeire said.
She added Metro
Manila also has a high-risk intensive care utilisation rate at 77.5 per
cent, while bed occupancy is near high-risk classification at 69.5 per
cent.
Alert level 4 refers to areas wherein case counts are high
and increasing, with total bed occupancy rate and intensive care unit
utilisation rate at high level.
Under alert level 4, the
government will allow outdoor dine-in services, barbershops, hair spas,
beauty salons, and physical, religious gatherings to operate up to 30
per cent of their outdoor seating capacity, regardless of vaccinations
status.
These establishments are allowed to operate at a limited 10 percent indoor venue or seating capacity.
Still,
they may only cater to individuals who are fully vaccinated against
CovidD-19 in addition to their permitted outdoor capacities.
Metro
Manila residents below 18 years and over 65 years old, those with
underlying health conditions, and pregnant women are not allowed to go
out of their houses, except for the purpose of buying essential goods
and going to services or work in permitted industries.
Intra-zonal
and internal travel are allowed, meaning that Metro Manila residents
can move around the capital and its adjacent areas.
Government
offices will remain in full operation and must follow at least 20 per
cent on-site working capacity backed with work-from-home arrangements.
Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority Chairman Bennu Abalos said curfew will be
in place from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. when the capital region shifts to alert
level 4.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said the updated alert
levels system, from level 1 to 5, will be fimplemented in Metro Manila
until September 30.
He said the government will assess the pilot
implementation in the capital region and recommend to President Rodrigo
Duterte a possible nationwide implementation later on.
The country has so far registered a total of 2,266,066 coronavirus cases and 35,529 deaths.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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