Photo: George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
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Manila Mayor Isko Moreno today said that space constraints caused the uptick of quarantine violators in the congested city.
The capital is the most densely populated city in Metro Manila, with 70,000 people living per square kilometer or twice the population in neighboring areas, Moreno said in an interview with radio station DZMM.
Read: We’re not the worst? Manila is world’s second-most congested city, new traffic index finds
“Social distancing is one of the challenges… Some of them [residents] continue to violate the quarantine and social distancing because of lack of space,” Moreno said.
The mayor said that informal settlers also occupy the city’s inner roads, rivers, and bayside areas. He added that each of those houses serve as residence to “three or four families.”
Quarantine violators have reached at least 100,000 nationwide as of yesterday, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Read: Quarantine violators reach 100,000, Filipinos urged to remain ‘vigilant’
In Manila, Moreno had to put a Tondo village on a 24-hour total lockdown after residents were caught attending bingo games and boxing matches.
“I hope the public will cooperate. I know they’re annoyed, sulking, [and] they want [the situation] to normalize. But we have to pay the price and sacrifice a little,” Moreno said in English and Filipino.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Manila has 484 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 30 deaths and 15 recoveries. Nationwide, 5,453 people have fallen ill to the disease.
