MANILA • The Philippines will unlikely keep its capital and nearby areas under strict lockdown despite coronavirus infections rising by another daily record to over 136,000.

The government has ran out of resources for aid to poor families, and has to allow people to go back to work, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said yesterday. The two-week lockdown ending Aug 18 was declared to accommodate health workers who said hospitals were already getting overwhelmed, he said.

The Philippines is battling a virus outbreak that’s already the worst in the region, while trying to boost its economy that plunged into recession last quarter.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted Russia’s offer of its coronavirus vaccine, volunteering to take the first shot as a gesture of trust and gratitude.

“When the vaccine arrives, I will have myself injected in public. Experiment on me first, that’s fine with me,” he said in a briefing on Monday night. Duterte — who has called President Vladimir Putin as his “idol” and who’s seeking to boost ties with Russia — added that Manila can assist Moscow in clinical trials and local production.

Russia is poised to allow a vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute for civilian use even before clinical trials are completed, triggering safety warnings from pharmaceutical companies. Russia’s elite have been given the experimental vaccine as early as April.

The Philippines reported 2,987 new infections yesterday for a total 139,538 confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest in South- East Asia.

Duterte, last month, also asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help the Philippines get priority access to a Covid-19 vaccine. — Bloomberg