Philippines breaks daily record for COVID-19 with nearly 10,000 cases

MANILA: The Philippines reported 9,838 coronavirus cases on Friday, marking the highest daily jump since the pandemic began, as the World Bank warned that vaccinations needed to be a priority to limit further deaths and support the country's health system.

A recent spike in infections has forced authorities to widen tighter restrictions in the capital Manila to surrounding provinces, but once-a-day religious services with up to 10% of a church's capacity will be allowed in the week ahead of Easter. The Philippines, which is facing the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, has seen record new cases in three of the past five days, while infections reported in the past 10 days accounted for a tenth of its total 702,856 cases.