The Philippine capital will remain under the loosest movement restrictions from March 16 to 31, as the government seeks to boost economic activity amid declining Covid-19 infections.
Metro Manila, which accounts for a third of the nation’s economic output, will stay under Alert Level 1 where businesses can fully operate, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement. Forty-seven other areas were also placed under the lowest alert level. The restrictions are reviewed every two weeks.
The capital shifted to the lowest alert level earlier this month, a move that’s expected to add 9.4 billion pesos ($179 million) in economic activity weekly and reduce unemployment.
The rest of the country shall be under Alert Level 2, where most businesses can operate at 50% to 70% capacity. Economic managers were pushing to place the entire nation under Alert Level 1 to further boost recovery, and to add 16.5 billion pesos weekly to the economy, according to Planning Secretary Karl Chua.
Daily Covid-19 cases have fallen to below 1,000 in the past weeks, after reaching almost 39,000 in mid-January. Declining infections have dampened vaccination efforts in the nation where about 40% of the population have yet to be inoculated.
