 |
| The Philippines now has more coronavirus infections than Indonesia, whose population is twice as big |
The Philippine economy fell into recession for the first
time in 39 years after shrinking 16.5% year-on-year in the second quarter due
to the prolonged and strict coronavirus lockdown.
The April-June contraction was unveiled by the
Philippine Statistics Authority today, Aug 6, as the Department of Health
reported 3,561 new coronavirus cases, two days after registering the all-time
daily high of 6,352 on Tuesday.
The overall tally of 119,460 has made the Philippines overtake Indonesia
as the country with the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Southeasr Asia .
Of the country’s total cases, 50,473 are active, according
to the latest DOH data.
Metro
There were an additional 569 recoveries, bringing the total
to 66,837. But the country’s Covid-19 death toll rose to 2,150 after the DOH added
28 new fatalities.
The country’s gross domestic product, the final value of
goods and services it produced during the past three months, fell way below the
9% contraction forecast in a Reuters poll, and was far worse than the 0.7% slump
in the first quarter.
Seasonally adjusted GDP fell 15.2% in the second quarter
from the January-March level.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and other Malacañang
officials acknowledged the adverse economic impact of the lockdowns, but said the government took the difficult move to save lives and
protect communities.
“The government did not shirk from the equally important
responsibility of providing much-needed relief to the most vulnerable,
maintaining fundamental services, and carrying out measures to keep the economy
afloat,” Dominguez said.
He said that without continued and increased public-sector
spending, especially on infrastructure, public health, and social protection, the
economy would have fared much worse.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the
economic contraction of was expected by the country’s economic managers.
But he said the lockdown and community quarantine was
necessary to prevent the collapse of the healthcare system and assist frontline
healthcare workers.
 |
| Two doctors at the Philippine General Hospital fell asleep on the lobby floor from sheer exhaustion |
The economic hit from the pandemic could worsen with the
government reimposing a virtual lockdown in Metro Manila and nearby provinces
for two weeks from Tuesday, amid record increases in Covid-19 cases.
 |
| Add caption |
Frontline medical workers had asked for a time-out, saying
they were made to bear the brunt of the surge in cases, while the government
failed to provide a clear policy direction on how it intends to curb the
contagion.
 |
| PADALA NA! |
