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Philippine authorities limited travel to the capital and its surrounding regions for two weeks, as coronavirus cases reached records.
The metropolitan city of Manila and the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal will be placed in a “bubble” from March 22 to April 4, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a live briefing on Sunday . Travel inside the bubble will not be impeded, he said.
Religious gatherings and indoor meals in restaurants are prohibited, while attendance at weddings, baptisms and funeral services will be limited inside the bubble, Roque said. A night curfew was implemented, he said.
The order comes when the nation publishes its second highest daily coronavirus account on Sunday, a day after reaching a record number of daily cases. Essential workers, including those in the health and humanitarian sectors, and some government leaders, as well as people seeking medical treatment and going to the airport to travel abroad, are exempt from the ban, Roque said.