The City of Manila suspends once again the celebration of the Chinese New Year as it continues to fight the new surge in COVID-19 cases brought about by the more contagious Omicron and Delta variants.
During the inauguration of the newly renovated Manila Zoo as the city's newest vaccination site for children and the elderly on Wednesday, Jan. 19, Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso said that the city will once again halt the public celebration of the Chinese New Year like what they did last year.
"Wala munang celebration. They can continue to celebrate in their respective homes ‘yung Chinese New Year, pero wala munang mga paputok, mga...the same rules applied nung Nazareno at nung Sto. Niño. Wala munang malalaking activities (There will be no celebration. They can continue to celebrate the Chinese New Year in their respective homes. But there will be no fireworks and other activities. The same rules applied during the Feast of the Nazareno and Sto. Niño will also be implemented during the Chinese New Year)," Domagoso said.
This year's Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Manila dropped to 2,046 on Friday, Jan. 21, from 3,150 on Wednesday, Jan. 19, and 2,486 on Thursday, Jan. 20.
The local government unit (LGU) reported that the city has administered 3,169,925 vaccine doses as of Jan. 21. A total of 1,677,592 individuals are partially vaccinated, and 1,535,223 are fully vaccinated.