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The Telegraph
The Telegraph
Health
Dan Olanday

Pain and struggle, but the health workers need a break: the Philippines reacts as lockdown reimposed

A health worker in Manila, the Philippines, interviews a child queuing for free Covid-19 swab testing - Getty images
A health worker in Manila, the Philippines, interviews a child queuing for free Covid-19 swab testing - Getty images

Ordinary people have told The Telegraph of the toll the Philippines’ second lockdown is having on their daily lives as the country witnesses a surge in the number of coronavirus cases.

The Philippines imposed one of the world's strictest and longest lockdowns in and around the capital Manila, running from mid-March to the end of May, but it was partially ended because of fears on the impact of the economy.

However, a recent surge in cases in Manila has prompted authorities to reimpose a lockdown, affecting around a quarter of the country's 107 million people. The Philippines recorded 3,561 new infections on Thursday, taking its total confirmed cases to 119,460 - the highest in East Asia. 

The fresh measures, which will include the need for quarantine passes in the city and see churches close their doors again, were renewed after a call from 80 groups representing 80,000 doctors and a million nurses, who asked for a “time out” to regroup their coronavirus strategies.

Some residents said they understood the call. Jem Santiago, a 47-year old event planner in Manila, said the country had to flatten the curve. 

"A lot of health workers are worn out, exhausted and overwhelmed by the increase of positive patient cases," she told The Telegraph. She said it was "right" to bring back the lockdown even though it was disastrous for her prospects of earning enough money as a single mum to her three sons. 

Others, including 25-year-old Ezra Borlagdatan, a TV producer, were less sanguine.  

"The Philippines has had one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the whole world, a lot of Filipinos have made sacrifices," she said. "Because of this lockdown, we have lost our jobs, others have lost their businesses." 

She said the sense that there was one rule for ordinary people and another for the elite was particularly galling, alongside the lack of information about a long-term plan. 

"I am mad because I abide by their rules on social distancing and curfews, and yet you will see officials from the government break those rules," she said.  

Last month, a 48-hour "hard lockdown" in Manila was announced as pictures emerged of President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman swimming with dolphins at a theme park in Bataan province. 

Previously, President Duterte has threatened to shoot or arrest anyone breaking the quarantine rules, and recent measures to suppress the virus have been likened to the country's brutal "war on drugs", including asking people to report those they suspect have the virus and forcibly relocating potential cases to quarantine centres.  

The first lockdown was bad enough, some said - the second was just more "pain and struggle", according to Jowel Palaña, a 41-year old.

Mr  Palaña lost his job as a jeepney driver during the first lockdown. He was then stuck in Manila for several months, separated from his wife, children and sick mother. 

He eventually managed to join them in Cavite province, but was caught out again by the second lockdown while working on a construction site in a different town from his family, to try and get some income. 

He now has to stay on-site for two weeks, away from his family once again. 

"I'm very worried, but I have no choice but to follow the lockdown protocols," he told The Telegraph. "The lockdowns have both been unimaginable for a poor family like us. I hope this sad part of our lives ends soon." 

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