(Eagle News) — Longer curfew hours in Metro Manila start today, July 25, as the government moves to curb the transmission of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the Philippines.
According to Metro Manila Council Chair Benhur Abalos, instead of the previous 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. curfew, curfew is now from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
“Since the Delta variant spreads exponentially, we should not let our guards down and implement necessary restrictions to contain the virus,” he said in a statement.
On Friday, July 23, the Palace announced Metro Manila would revert to a general community with heightened restrictions until July 31.
President Rodrigo Duterte had said the Philippines may need to re-impose stringent restrictions after the Department of Health reported a local transmission of the Delta variant in the Philippines.
On Saturday, the DOH said 17 more local Delta variant cases had been detected, pushing the total to 64.
According to Abalos, the movement of people needed to be limited.
The DOH has said the Delta variant could be up to 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant first detected in the United Kingdom.
It said an Alpha variant-positive person could infect three to four people in one sitting.
A Delta variant-positive person, however, can infect eight.
The World Health Organization has said the Delta variant was on track to becoming the globally dominant variant due to its transmissibility.