The Philippines is unlikely to keep its capital and nearby areas under strict lockdown despite coronavirus infections rising by another daily record to over 136,000.
The government has ran out of resources for aid to poor families, and has to allow people to go back to work, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday. The two-week lockdown ending Aug 18 was declared to accommodate health workers who said hospitals were already getting overwhelmed, he said.
The Philippines is battling a virus outbreak that’s already the worst in the region, while trying to boost its economy that plunged into recession last quarter.
