Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest of people not vaccinated against the coronavirus who violate the curfew in the country.
Anyone who refuses to stay at home contrary to instructions could be arrested, Duterte said on Thursday. The corona pandemic is a “national emergency” that justifies such an approach.
Less than half of the population vaccinated against coronavirus
In view of the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the corona virus, the government decided at the beginning of the week that unvaccinated people in the capital Manila and several other cities were only allowed to leave their homes to buy essential goods or to do sports.
So far, only less than half of Filipinos have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He was “shocked” by the low vaccination rate, said Duterte. “If you don’t get vaccinated, you put everyone in danger,” he emphasized to the unvaccinated. The number of new infections reported rose to more than 17,000 on Thursday, more than three times as many as two days earlier. Shortly before Christmas, the number of new infections every day was a few hundred. (AFP)