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President of the Philippines threatens to arrest the unvaccinated who take to the streets. Photo: AFP
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte authorized on Thursday to detain unvaccinated people from leaving their homes during the current period of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
After the number of infections tripled in the last two days in the archipelago, thirteen million unvaccinated Manila residents are ordered to stay home. The same rule applies in other provinces and cities.
Authorities expect infections to continue to rise in the coming days and peak at the end of the month.
“Because it is a national emergency, my position is that we can stop” people who have not been vaccinated, Duterte said in a message.
“Now I am giving orders [a los jefes de las localidades] so that they look for people who are not vaccinated and ask or order them, if they can, to stay put ”.
“If they refuse and leave their homes (…), he can be detained. And if they refuse, [el funcionario] he is empowered to arrest the recalcitrant, “he added.
Vaccination against the coronavirus is voluntary in this country of more than 100 million inhabitants, where less than half the population has been immunized.
In the Philippines, the coronavirus has infected 2.9 million people, of whom nearly 52,000 died.