* Sinovac shots to arrive on Sunday
* COVAX to supply 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)
* Philippines records fresh four-month high in daily cases
(Adds detail on AstraZeneca doses, COVID-19 infections)
By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte has extended coronavirus curbs in the capital until the
end of March, as the country awaits the arrival of vaccines made
by China's Sinovac Biotech SVA.O and Britain's AstraZeneca
AZN.L , the presidential spokesman said on Saturday.
The Philippines will be last Southeast Asian nation to get
its initial shipment of vaccines, made up of 600,000 Sinovac
doses donated by China, arriving on Sunday, while the COVAX
facility bringing in 525,600 AstraZeneca shots on Monday.
With Southeast Asia's second-highest tally of infections and
deaths, the Philippines has suffered lengthy lockdowns, hitting
an economy that was among Asia's fastest growing before the
pandemic.
Curbs will stay for another month in Manila, which accounts
for 40% of national economic output, the spokesman, Harry Roque,
said in a statement. Also under partial curbs are Duterte's
southern home city of Davao and the northern city of Baguio.
The curbs limit operations of businesses and public
transport.
The decision follows 2,651 new virus infections reported on
Friday, the highest daily increase in more than four months, and
another new high of 2,921 new cases on Saturday. Despite calls for the economy to be re-opened, Duterte had
pledged to maintain curbs in the virus epicentre of Manila until
mass vaccinations begin. The Philippines is negotiating supply deals with seven
manufacturers for 148 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, so it
can inoculate 70 million adults, or two-thirds of its more than
108 million population.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/)
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FACTBOX-Worldwide coronavirus deaths exceed 2.6 mln
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Coronavirus: knowns and unknowns https://reut.rs/2UHIgvz
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