One-fifth of the Philippines' population is going into lockdown as hospitals in the city of Manila struggle to cope with a surge in infections, APA reports citing BBC.
From Monday Manila's 24 million people will begin a week-long lockdown to try to control the spread of Covid-19, which the government says is being driven by new variants.
A night-time curfew from 6pm to 5am will be enforced, mass gatherings are banned and public transport is closed as non-essential workers will be told to work from home.
Restrictions in the city have already dramatically reduced planned celebrations of Holy Week for the country's large Catholic population before Easter on 2-4 April.
The country has reported record rises in virus cases in three of the past five days, according to the health ministry. Since the pandemic began, the Philippines has recorded more than 700,000 cases and 13,159 deaths.
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