The Philippines’ Department of Health on Friday, March 12, reported 4,578 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase in cases in nearly six months.
In a bulletin, the Health department said total confirmed cases had risen to 611,618, while deaths had reached 12,694, with 87 fatalities added on Friday.
The renewed surge in COVID-19 cases has prompted mayors in the capital Manila, an urban sprawl of 16 cities, to impose an evening curfew until the end of March and remind the public to practice physical distancing.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, said that the economy should be reopened soon, calling for a quick vaccination of millions.
The country’s economy was among the fastest growing in Asia before the COVID-19 pandemic, but strict and lengthy restrictions to limit coronavirus contagion have dampened consumer spending and left millions jobless.
“I have to reopen the economy. I have given a timetable of just weeks,” Duterte said in a speech at a provincial airport inauguration. “The economy must be opened in a short while,” he said.
It would reopen if millions, especially those living around big cities, are already vaccinated, the firebrand leader added.
The Philippines, which has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, started its vaccination program on March 1 with 600,000 Sinovac shots donated by China.
The Philippines aims to inoculate 70 million of its 108 million population to achieve herd immunity and facilitate a reopening of the economy, which suffered a record slump in 2020.
Health authorities said they saw no reason to halt using the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country despite suspension of inoculations in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland due to reports of blood clots.
“At present, the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration emphasize that there is no indication for the Philippines to stop rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines,” said the health ministry and the country’s food and drug administration in a joint statement, adding that benefits outweigh the risks.
The Philippines has so far received 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility.
