The measures include the elimination of inter-provincial travel, the halving of public transport, the closure of centers providing non-essential services and requests to the population not to leave their homes except for imperative reasons such as going to the hospital or buying food.

Manila was already under such a state of emergency between March and August 2020 and then between March and April this year. On April 2 the country reported an unprecedented 15,280 people infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Now, under the threat of the Delta variant, health authorities fear a repeat scenario and advised to block the capital, the neighboring province of Laguna and the cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro.

On Friday, the Health Ministry reported 10,623 people infected, bringing the total to 1,638,345, the highest number in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.

The Ministry also reported 247 deaths, bringing the total to 28,673, also the second highest number in the region.

The Philippines aims to vaccinate 70 million people against Covid-19 before the end of the year, but the immunization campaign is behind schedule, because about 10 million have received the two doses that complete the cycle.

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