ADVERTISEMENT

Philippines Keeps Virus Curbs Through Jan. 15 as Infections Rise

Philippines Keeps Virus Curbs Through Jan. 15 as Infections Rise

The Philippines will be kept under the second-lowest level of movement restrictions as the government held back on further easing amid an uptick of Covid-19 cases during the holidays. 

The country will remain under Alert Level 2 from January 1 to 15, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement Thursday. Most businesses can operate under the rules.

The Philippines, which moved up the Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking this month, has been steadily reopening its economy in recent months. Economic managers have been pushing to shift to the lowest alert level in January, as they project growth of as much as 9% in 2022.

Health officials are keeping a close watch on the omicron variant with four cases detected in the Philippines. Covid-19 cases in the the country rose to 889 on Wednesday, after falling below 200 last week.

Less than half of the Philippine population has been fully vaccinated, lagging behind other countries in Southeast Asia. Booster shots with shorter intervals are getting rolled out to adults, and inoculations for ages 5 to 11 are planned to start next month.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.