Manila locks down as Philippines virus cases near four-month high

MANILA: The Philippines placed its Manila capital region under a two week lockdown on Friday as the Southeast Asian country's health ministry reported 10,623 new coronavirus cases, the largest single-day jump in infections for almost four months.

The Philippines is battling one of Asia's biggest COVID-19 outbreaks and has seen a steady rise in infections over the last two weeks which health officials have attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. "The national government together with local governments should act aggressively, as if there is already community transmission," health ministry spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire told a news conference, referring to the highly contagious variant.