Duterte Puts 12 Million People on Lockdown, Shuts Government

(Bloomberg) --

President Rodrigo Duterte said he would place some 12 million people in the Manila area on lockdown and largely suspend government work for a month in an effort to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

The president on Thursday said he was suspending domestic travel to and from the Metro Manila region from March 15 to April 14, and restricting entry of travelers from countries that had seen local transmissions of the deadly virus, which is spreading across the U.S. and Europe.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, in a televised briefing Friday, said a 60-day price freeze on basic goods is in effect in the capital area to prevent a sharp rise in prices. He assured that the delivery of food and basic supplies to Manila would remain unimpeded.

Duterte’s order, which leaked on social media hours before the announcement, triggered panic buying and sent people rushing to bus stations as they anticipated the restriction in movement.

“We don’t want to use that, afraid to say lockdown, but it is a lockdown,” Duterte said in a televised briefing Thursday. After his speech, the Department of Health announced that three more people in the Philippines had died of the virus, beinging the death toll to five out of 52 confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian nation.

Duterte encouraged private companies to adopt flexible work arrangements, and lifted the ban on overseas Filipino workers traveling to mainland China -- except Hubei province, the virus’s epicenter.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the lockdown’s impact on economic growth would be “minimal and ephemeral.”

The Department of Agriculture is working with local governments to ensure availability of food in Metro Manila, Secretary William Dar told reporters. He said the country’s inventory of rice, a staple food, was good for 80 days.

Robert Dan Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp. in Manila, said consumers must be assured that the regular supply of goods would remain intact and prices stable, in which case “we can expect a smaller net effect” on the economy.

“During times of crisis like this coronavirus epidemic, people want to be reassured our leaders know what they are doing,” columnist Boo Chanco wrote in the local Philippine Star.

Philippine Central Banker Quarantines as Duterte Tests for Virus

Schools in the country will remain shut until April 12, and public gatherings prohibited. Local officials have been empowered to impose community- to province-wide quarantines.

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