August 04, 2020•Update: August 04, 2020
ANKARA
More than 6,300 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Philippines on Tuesday, a record daily spike for the archipelagic country that has now ordered millions of people to stay at home.
According to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), 6,352 more infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, raising the total to 112,593.
The death toll increased by 11 to reach 2,115, while the number of recovered patients is now up to 66,049.
The surge in infections comes as the capital Manila and its surrounding areas entered a lockdown starting Tuesday.
Authorities have reimposed strict restrictions, including shutting down public transport and businesses, on the main island of Luzon until at least Aug. 18.
Under the lockdown rules, only one person will be authorized to go out to buy essential goods for a household, according to the PNA report.
Authorities have set up checkpoints that cannot be crossed by anyone without a quarantine pass.
“Recent data shows that there is a significant increase in COVID cases, with record-high numbers reported consecutively in the last four days, from the areas recently placed under MECQ [modified enhanced community quarantine],” the Health Department said in a statement.
It said the aim was to “address the rise in cases at the root through stricter enforcement of localized lockdowns and the implementation of the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE).”
According to the statement, the key components of the CODE strategy include community engagement, house-to-house symptom checks, and testing for symptomatic patients.
* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
