MANILA: The Philippines on Tuesday reported 2,987 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally of confirmed cases to 139,538, the highest in Southeast Asia.
A health ministry bulletin also reported 19 more fatalities, bringing the country's death toll to 2,312.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said an intensified contact tracing to isolate positive cases was necessary to slow community transmission, as he dismissed the possibility of extending a two-week strict lockdown due to end on Aug. 18 in and around the capital Manila.
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Philippines records 2,987 more coronavirus infections, 19 deaths
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Philippines records 2,987 more coronavirus infections, 19 deaths
- Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said an intensified contact tracing to isolate positive cases was necessary to slow community transmission
- He dismissed the possibility of extending a two-week strict lockdown due to end on Aug. 18
Pope Leo warns of ‘shrinking’ freedom of expression in Western countries
- Pope Leo warns of ‘shrinking’ freedom of expression in Western countries
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo warned on Friday that freedom of expression is “rapidly shrinking” in Western countries, and urged the right to conscientious objection for people who refuse military service or for doctors who refuse to perform abortions or euthanasia.
“It is painful to see how, especially in the West, the space for genuine freedom of expression is rapidly shrinking,” the pope said in an address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican.
“A new Orwellian-style language is developing which, in an attempt to be increasingly inclusive, ends up excluding those who do not conform to the ideologies that are fueling it,” said Leo, the first US pope.
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