Philippines arrests unvaccinated people who leave their homes

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday (06/01) that law enforcement authorities in the country are allowed to detain unvaccinated people who leave their homes during the current period of restrictions imposed to curb cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“Because it is a national emergency, my position is that we can arrest” people who haven’t been vaccinated, Duterte said in a televised address, adding that he was asking community leaders to look for people who are not immunized and make sure they survive. confined to their homes.

“If the person refuses, if the person leaves the house and moves around the community, they can be contained. And if they refuse, the police can arrest the rebellious people,” Duterte said. .

Under the current rules, unvaccinated people in the Manila metropolitan area and various provinces in the country can only leave their homes for essential travel. The Philippines has so far detected 43 domestic and imported cases of Omicron, prompting the government to tighten restrictions this week.

The Philippines’ daily coronavirus infections have peaked since September 26, with 17,220 cases on Thursday, the Philippine Department of Health said.

The number, which tripled on Tuesday, brought the total number of cases in the Philippines to more than 2.88 million. The number of officially identified deaths from the disease has exceeded 51,700. The country ranks second in terms of the number of infections and deaths from the COVID-19 virus in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.

“I am responsible for the safety and well-being of every Filipino,” Duterte said, as he challenged those who disagreed with his directive to sue the government.

By the end of last year, 49.8 million people in the Philippines had been fully vaccinated, or 45% of the country’s population of 110 million.