Philippines extends restrictions in the capital to contain COVID-19

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is enforcing partial coronavirus restrictions in the capital for another two weeks, and warned that stricter curbs would be reinstated if the rise in new cases and deaths does not slow down.

The Philippines this week recorded Southeast Asia's biggest daily jump in coronavirus deaths and saw hospital occupancy grow sharply, after a tripling of infections since a tough lockdown was eased on June 1 to allow more movement and commerce.

"It was clear during our discussion that if the spread of the virus in Manila will not slow, it is possible that stricter quarantine measures would be reimposed after two weeks," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said late on Wednesday. | A resident sits inside her home during the start of a lockdown.

Under tighter regulations in force from mid-March to the end of May, public transport was barred, working from home instituted where possible, and only one person per household allowed out for essential goods.

Navotas, a city of 250,000 in the National Capital Region surrounding Manila, will from July 16 return to lockdown after cases tripled since June, its mayor said this week.

Policemen patrol around a village during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the city of Navotas.

A member of the police manning a checkpoint asks to see the quarantine pass of a resident in suburban Manila.

To prevent wider transmission, the government said it would use police to carry out house-to-house searches for patients so they can be isolated and brought to quarantine facilities where they can be properly managed.

Philippine police were being deployed to ensure people who test positive for the coronavirus and cannot self-isolate at home are taken to state-run quarantine centres, sparking warnings of potential rights violations.

Residents watch as a police officer rides atop an Armored Personnel Carrier by their home during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, Manila.

Funeral workers in protective suits carry a cadaver during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas.

An armed member of the police special action force speaks to residents as he mans a checkpoint along a street in Navotas.

Armed members of a police special action force man a checkpoint along a street in Navotas.

Confirmed Coronavirus infections continues to rise in the country after it has reopened an economy that’s on the brink of recession while still struggling to combat the pandemic.

Residents ride past police Armored Personnel Carriers during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, metropolitan Manila, Philippines.