​Delta watch 2: Lockdown

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 30 Jul 2021 by Romeo Bernardo

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After announcing yesterday that there will be no change in Metro Manila’s quarantine status for the next two weeks, government today decided for a more aggressive response against rising infections in the capital, returning Metro Manila to strict lockdown for two weeks from August 6 to 20. Daily cases in Metro Manila, averaging over 1k on a 7-day rolling basis, remains far below the over 5,500 average reached in early April when it was last placed under the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Experts have however warned that the metropolis is in the throes of a new surge with government’s genome sequencing detecting increasing local transmission of the delta variant. Although the lockdown will not go into effect for another week, government has started to tighten restrictions, barring indoor dining, limiting capacities for other non-essential services and banning mass gatherings. The latest ECQ directive will likely cost the economy more than the April lockdown which coincided with the holidays leading up to Easter. Despite the cost, the business sector has voiced support for the preemptive lockdown in hopes that it could quickly arrest the spread of the delta variant and allow more robust economic growth in Q4 when target vaccination thresholds for containing the virus are expected to be reached. The nation is now watching how fast government can ramp up immunization in Metro Manila in the coming weeks in line with a strategy to prioritize key urban areas to prevent secondary surges elsewhere.CHART 1.Daily cases, PH and NCR (7d ave)Source: DOHTABLE 1.DOH biosurveillance reportSource: DOHCHART 2.Daily vaccination progress (in thousand doses)Source: Our World...