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How Philippines Got Runaway COVID-19 Caseload, an Outlier in Asia

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - The Philippines has become a COVID-19 outlier in East
   Asia with a runaway caseload because initial stay-home orders ended
   early and people struggle to practice social distancing despite strict
   rules, local observers say.

   New reported cases spiked during the past month, leaving the
   archipelago with a cumulative total of about 120,000. Daily cases set a
   record Tuesday of 6,277. Now cities have shut down again, threatening
   access to workplaces in a country where many people depend on daily
   labor to survive.

   "A lot of it is because people don't follow the protocols," said Rhona
   Canoy, president of the International School of CDO in the southern
   Philippine city Cagayan de Oro.

   "They don't wear masks," she said, "and the biggest issue of all is
   that people don't observe social distancing."

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