(BusinessWorld) MAYORS in the Philippine capital and nearby cities have voted to lower the lockdown in the region to the most relaxed level amid decreasing coronavirus infections.
“The basis of the Metro Manila Council to ease the restrictions in the region is to open up the economy to ensure job generation,” Romando S. Artes, officer-in-charge of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), told a news briefing on Wednesday.
The 17 mayors don’t have the power to decide on the lockdown level and can only recommend actions to an inter-agency task force against the coronavirus.
The Department of Health (DoH) posted 1,534 infections on Wednesday — the fifth straight day the tally fell below 2,000 — bringing the total to 3.66 million.
The death toll hit 55,977 after 201 more patients died, while recoveries rose by 2,729 to 3.54 million, it said in a bulletin.
It added that 6.1% of 24,527 samples from Feb. 21 tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), still above the 5% threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Of 55,449 active cases, 652 did not show symptoms, 50,258 were mild, 2,811 were moderate, 1,426 were severe and 302 were critical… Read More
