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Philippine authorities have limited travel to and from the capital and surrounding areas for about two weeks as coronavirus cases have reached record levels.
The Metropolitan Church of Manila and the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will be placed in a “bubble” from March 22 to April 4, President’s spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing broadcast on Sunday. The journey inside the balloon will be unhindered, he said.
Religious gatherings and indoor restaurants are banned, while attendance at weddings, baptisms and funeral services will be limited to the balloon, Roque said. He will say that a night option will be implemented.
The order comes as the nation released its second largest daily number of coronaviruses on Sunday, a day after reaching a record number of daily cases. Essential workers, including those in the health and humanitarian sectors and some government front lines, as well as people seeking medical treatment and going to the airport for travel abroad, are exempt from the ban, Roque said.