Manila lockdown to endure until August 15

Casinos and other gambling establishments in metropolitan Manila are reportedly set to remain shuttered until at least August 15 after the federal government extended the giant conurbation’s ‘general community quarantine’ order due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the Philippines capital region was put under lockdown from March 15 after the number of people infected with the potentially-deadly ailment topped 100 nationwide. The source detailed that this move involved the shutting of all local sportsbetting, electronic gaming, bingo and poker establishments as well as the Luzon area’s four large integrated casino resorts in the Resorts World Manila, Solaire Resort and Casino, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila developments.

Increasing infections:

Harry Roque, a spokesperson for President Rodrigo Duterte, had previously declared that the metropolis may be placed into a stricter ‘modified enhanced community quarantine’ if the number of those suffering from coronavirus had topped 85,000 by the end of July. The source explained that 3,954 new nationwide cases were recorded yesterday including 1,703 for metropolitan Manila to take the historical number of those who had caught the illness to 89,374 for 1,983 deaths.

Encouraging edict:

However, GGRAsia reported that there has recently been some good news out of the Philippines as Cebu City, which was placed under a ‘modified enhanced community quarantine’ from July 16, has now had its lockdown status lowered to the less stringent ‘general community quarantine.’ As a result, the southern metropolis of almost one million inhabitants is now purportedly under the same isolation provisions as the central Luzon provinces of Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan and Laguna as well as the Visayan Islands and Mindanao municipalities of Talisay City, Consolacion, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Minglanilla, and Zamboanga City.