Philippines's independent monitor believes strict lockdown may not be working as Covid-19 cases keep soaring

A healthworker vaccinates a public transport driver with Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in a shopping mall's parking lot turned into a drive-thru vaccination site, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on August 13, 2021. - Reuters

MANILA, Aug 15 (Philippines Daily Inquirer/ANN): The independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research has announced that the growing number of Covid-19 infections not just in Metro Manila but in other parts of the country could mean that the strict lockdown was not working or that the new Delta coronavirus variant was more aggressive than expected.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday (Aug 14) recorded 14,249 new cases, topping the previous day’s 13,777. Saturday’s figure was the second highest number of infections logged in a single day since 15,310 were recorded on April 2, during the surge.