All Chinese New Year festivities will be prohibited in the city of Manila, Mayor Isko Moreno announced Friday, as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. The city is home to one of the world's oldest Chinatowns.
There will be no street parties, stage shows, parades, palarong kalye or similar activities from Feb. 11-12, 2021, Moreno said in a city executive order.
“All activities for the celebration of Chinese or Lunar New Year within the City of Manila are hereby cancelled,” he said.
The cancellation comes as the Philippines guards against the spread of the UK variant of the COVID-19 virus. The general community quarantine or GCQ in Metro Manila has also been extended until February.
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“This cancellation is all the more compelling due to reports of COVID variant entering the country," Moreno said.
The capital city also prohibited the use of firecrackers during the celebration of the Lunar New Year “to ensure the health and safety of the public.”
A liquor ban will be implemented within the Binondo Chinatown area—home to many Filipino-Chinese—from Feb. 11-12.
President Rodrigo Duterte has declared Feb. 12 a special non-working holiday to mark the Chinese New Year.
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