Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte authorized this Thursday, January 6, to detain unvaccinated people from leaving their homes during the current period of restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
After the number of infections tripled in the last two days in the archipelago, 13 million unvaccinated Manila residents are ordered to stay home. The same rule applies in other provinces and cities.
Authorities expect infections to continue to rise in the coming days and peak at the end of the month.
“Because it is a national emergency, my position is that we can stop” people who have not been vaccinated, Duterte said in a message.
“Now I am giving orders (to the heads of the localities) to look for people who are not vaccinated and ask them or order them, if they can, to stay put,” he said.
“If they refuse and leave their homes (…), he can be detained. And if they refuse, (the official) is empowered to arrest the recalcitrant, “he added.
Vaccination against COVID-19 is voluntary in this country of more than 100 million inhabitants, where less than half of the population has been immunized.
In Philippines The coronavirus has infected 2.9 million people, and of these, nearly 52,000 died.
Source-larepublica.pe