Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso announced that all Holy Week activities in the city will be suspended amid the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. 

The religious holiday commemorated by Catholics—which starts on March 29 this year—traditionally includes rituals and customs such as the penitensya, Visita Iglesia, and caridad.

Domagoso said if these activities push through this year, they may attract large crowds and may be superspreader events for COVID-19.

"Ang importante sa Semana Santa, 'yung relasyon natin sa Diyos sa panahon kung saan siya nagbayad ng dugo para sa ating mga kasalanan. Magnilay-nilay tayo (What's important during the Holy Week is our relationship with God and how He paid for our sins with His blood. Let us reflect on that)," he said in an interview over DZBB on Friday (March 19).

The Manila mayor said they can no longer afford to take any chances because its six district hospitals are feeling the strain brought by the surge in COVID-19 infections. 

Data released by the city government on Thursday (March 18) showed that 55 percent of the COVID-19 beds in the city's district hospitals are already occupied. Its quarantine facilities also have an occupancy rate of 91 percent.

Manila has 2,155 active cases out of 32,587 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Friday. Of this number, 29,585 have recovered while 847 have died.

Domagoso said the city government will continue to strictly enforce minimum health protocols and granular lockdowns in a bid to curb the spread of infection. 

"If you violate the lockdown we put you in a quarantine facility and you need to be tested. Maraming nag-violate sa first day but as we progressed, nabawasan na nang nabawasan. Malaki yung ibinaba (A lot of people violated this on the first day, but as we progressed, the number of violators lessened and lessened. There was a huge dip in the number of violators)," he said.

"Mabigat sa loob ko 'yung hirap na inaabot ng tao sa lockdown. But we are sure about our rules. Ganun din sa violators ng curfew (The difficulty that people experience during a lockdown weighs heavy on me. But we are sure about our rules. The same can be said for curfew violators)," he said.

The local chief executive also assured that they are not planning to place the entire city under a lockdown. However, he will not hesitate to do it if the need arises.