The number of people infected with the new coronavirus disease in the Philippines has risen to 35, the health department said yesterday.
The Department of Health confirmed the 11 new Covid-19 cases, but has yet to issue additional details on the condition of the patients.
President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the Philippines under a state of public health emergency, and ordered the suspension of school classes in all levels in the capital until Saturday.
Other restrictions in social activities were also put in place in the country, including the suspension of visits at the national prison and live audiences in television shows.
Some government agencies prohibited employees from travelling either on official capacity or on vacation, as part of precautionary efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
METRO MANILA SET 
FOR 14-DAY LOCKDOWN 
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday said Metro Manila is ready for a 14-day lockdown, Manila Times reported.
“Yes, we are prepared for a lockdown. We have the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help the local government units,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano told reporters at the Metro Manila Council meeting in Makati City.
Ano’s statement came after Albay Rep. Joey Salceda proposed a lockdown in Metro Manila to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and prevent its spread in nearby provinces.
But Ano said it was too early to declare a lockdown since the country was still under Code Red Sublevel 1.
“But we have not yet tallied a local community transmission, which means that the virus spreads in a community,” he added.
He also said a lockdown would only be for 14 days.
“If there is a transmission, the best that we can do is to stop the spread of the virus by ensuring that there is no mass gathering or, if possible, to enforce a lockdown of 14 days because it is the incubation period of the virus. With that, we can stop the activity and prevent the spread of the virus,” Ano added.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia agreed with Ano.
“Actually, we have a plan on that. We are preparing for the worst but, of course, we do not want to create panic,” he said.
The government could place certain areas under lockdown once the emergency health alert level is raised to Sublevel 2, according to Sen.Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.
But the senator stressed that a lockdown would be implemented on a case-to-case basis.
“If the need arises, we will prepare. We are still under Code Red Sublevel 1. In the event we reach Sublevel 2, suspension of work and school will be needed,” he said.
Code Red Sublevel 2 will be declared once the situation worsens, indicated by sustained community transmission or an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, whose links cannot be established.
“We have not reached Sublevel 2. I talked to the president. It is going to be a case-to-case basis. We cannot directly implement a lockdown,” Go said.
If the alert level is raised to Sublevel 2, the government may order community-level quarantine or lockdown and establish epidemiologic linkage.
Schools and work may also be suspended.
Hospitals will be ordered to prepare for possible increase in the number of patients seeking admission.
Severe acute respiratory illness surveillance will also be enhanced and other laboratories of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine will be activated in order to increase the capacity to diagnose suspected cases.
Go gave assurances that with the declaration of a state of public health emergency, all the resources of government shall be used properly and made available to respond to the needs of communities.
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