Manila back under lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge

Manila: Commuter trains, buses and other public vehicles stayed off the main roads of the Philippine capital Tuesday and police were again staffing checkpoints to restrict public travel as surging virus cases forced another lockdown.

Officials deployed dozens of shuttle buses, along with army trucks, to ferry stranded medical personnel and workers of authorized businesses. Most domestic flights to and from the capital were cancelled, and night curfews will return in places.

Crowds trooped to some markets Monday to stock up on food after the hasty return to a lockdown sparked panic-buying.

The lockdown is milder than was first one imposed, which largely confined most people to their homes for months, but is more severe than the quarantine restrictions the capital had been under recently. It is being imposed in metropolitan Manila and outlying provinces for two weeks.

Travelling by bike, motorcycle and private car is allowed for essential reasons, but mass transit will be closed.

President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to reinstate the lockdown after medical groups warned the health care system was being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. More than 106,000 people have been infected, including more than 2,100 who have died.

A policeman inspects motorists at a checkpoint in the outskirts of Metro Manila.

Heavy traffic is pictured along Marcos Highway, as motorists queue for a checkpoint on the first day of the Philippine capital's reimplementation of a stricter lockdown to curb COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila.

Motorcycle riders line up at a checkpoint in the outskirts of Metro Manila.

Millions of people in the Philippines went back into lockdown on August 4 as global coronavirus infections keep soaring, with the World Health Organisation warning against relying on a vaccine "silver bullet" to end the pandemic.

Motorists travel on a usually busy highway during a new round of lockdown measures for the COVID-19 outbreak in Manila.

Stranded workers wait for shuttle services following the suspension of mass transportation on the first day of the government's reimplementation of a stricter lockdown to curb COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila.

Armed policemen man a checkpoint in the outskirts of Metro Manila.

Police officers man a checkpoint along Marcos Highway on the first day of the Philippine capital's reimplementation of a stricter lockdown to curb COVID-19 infections.

Motorcycles queue for a checkpoint along Marcos Highway on the first day of the Philippine capital's reimplementation of a stricter lockdown to curb COVID-19.