Americans celebrate July Fourth with a bang after pandemic cancellations

NEW YORK - Americans marked their nation’s 245th birthday on Sunday with fireworks that may look brighter, hotdogs that may taste juicier and marching bands that may sound jauntier after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of nearly all celebrations last year.

As always, fireworks displays are the highlight of the July Fourth holiday. Two of the biggest pyrotechnic shows in the country will blast off over the National Mall in Washington, and over a mile stretch of New York City's East River, separating Manhattan from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.

Some classic July Fourth events such as Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn's Coney Island remained scaled back to allow for social distancing in recognition of the continued threat of the COVID-19, which has killed more than 600,000 Americans. The more aggressive Delta variant has raised alarms about the potential for another surge among the unvaccinated.

Even so, this holiday was a time for Americans to show their patriotism and to celebrate a fresh sense of freedom in a personal sense by mingling with friends once again and enjoying summer's simple pleasures.

But this year's July Fourth was not entirely carefree. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned state and local police last week of a heightened threat of violence by domestic extremist groups amid relaxed COVID-19 restrictions and the July Fourth holiday.

It was expected to be the busiest July Fourth road travel holiday on record - with an estimated 43.6 million Americans behind the wheel, or 5% more than a previous record set in 2019, the American Automobile Association said.

Aleksandra Magidoff, a 12-year-old from Brooklyn, traveled to a New Jersey suburb to reconnect with a lifelong friend and her family. They were among the more than 3.5 million people who have moved out of New York, once the U.S. epicenter of COVID-19, since the pandemic started in the spring of 2020.

"I'm so excited - I can talk to them and celebrate with them and just socialize!" said Magidoff, who was fully vaccinated under the enormous blue whale model at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The girls planned to gorge on "a bunch of hamburgers and hotdogs" before taking in the fireworks show at a New Jersey fairgrounds, she said.

Last July Fourth she watched fireworks from her apartment building's rooftop while under pandemic lockdown, allowed to celebrate with only her immediate family.

In Washington, masks must be worn by any unvaccinated people who are among the 1,000 people attending President Joe Biden's July Fourth celebration on the White House lawn with essential workers and military families, officials said.

The president hosts the event three days after his visit to Surfside, Florida, to console families whose loved ones were in a condo tower that collapsed on June 24. Several Florida communities have canceled their July Fourth fireworks out of respect for those impacted by the tragedy, city officials said.

Elsewhere in Washington, marching bands stepped off on Sunday in a traditional parade on Capitol Hill's Barracks Row. As darkness falls, the National Mall was expected to draw big crowds to a 17-minute fireworks display set off from both sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

On New York's East River, 50 pyrotechnicians have spent days loading more than 65,000 shells on five barges to wow audiences watching the spectacular show either in person or on television. The display is presented by Macy's department store.

Lighting up the night's sky not only delights crowds but also promises to restore a lifeline this year for the businesses that supply the 16,000 July Fourth fireworks displays that typically occur in cities and towns. Last year, only a "scant few" went on with the show, said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.

"Approximately 70 percent are scheduled to return, and many will be bigger and better than pre-pandemic levels," Heckman said.

But for some July Fourth was somber.

In addition to the pall cast over the country by the pandemic and the Florida building collapse, the U.S. West faces a heightened risk of wildfires after a scorching heatwave and extremely dry conditions. And nationwide supply chain glitches tied to the pandemic have jacked up prices of everything from household items to fireworks.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York and Andrea Shalal and Mark Hosenball in Washington; editing by Diane Craft and Marguerita Choy)

-reuters-

Thailand braced for infections spike after detecting UK COVID-19 variant

BANGKOK—Thailand has detected at least 24 cases of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 first identified in Britain, a government health expert said on Wednesday, its first known domestic transmission of the highly contagious variant.

The SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.7 has been found in more than 100 countries and has been blamed for fueling new waves of infections in record numbers.

The UK variant was found in a cluster of 24 visitors to entertainment venues in Bangkok, which were detected at the weekend. Nearly 200 such venues have been closed for two weeks.

"We did everything to block it, and it still gets through," Yong Poovorawan, a government expert and virologist at Chulalongkorn University, told a health ministry briefing.

"This variant is very viral and can spread 1.7 times faster than the usual strain," he said.

Thailand has seen infections jump in the past week, although numbers are still low compared to some of its regional neighbors.

It recorded 334 new infections on Wednesday, with no new deaths, bringing its case total to 29,905 and 95 fatalities.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha instructed authorities to prepare field hospitals in anticipation of a spike in infections.

Ten of his ministers and dozens of lawmakers were self-isolating on Wednesday due to exposure to positive cases.

"We can handle things right now and I have instructed the preparation for field hospitals in Bangkok area," Prayuth said of the rise in cases.

"We could need these field hospitals in case the pandemic worsens," he added.

Confirmation of the presence of the B.1.1.7 variant will be a setback for Thailand, which is just a week away from one of its biggest holiday periods.

B.1.1.7 is as much as 70% more transmissible than existing variants, and far deadlier, according to British scientists. 

Yong said he was puzzled at how community transmission had occurred given Thailand's strict border controls, quarantine and testing protocols, which in January had detected the variant in a family traveling from Britain, who were isolated.

Opas Karnkawinpong of the Department of Disease Control warned of thousands of new daily infections if restrictions are not followed during the holiday period.

Thailand is aiming to start is mass immunisation campaign from June but has been vaccinating health workers or people deemed vulnerable, with more than 300,000 recipients so far, according to the Health Ministry.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thempgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

-reuters-

European Union regulator: AstraZeneca vaccine 'safe, effective'

Europe's medical regulator said Thursday the AstraZeneca vaccine is "safe and effective" and not associated with a higher blood clot risk, after more than a dozen countries paused rollouts over health fears. 

The closely watched announcement comes after the WHO and Britain's health watchdog both said the vaccine was safe, adding that it was far riskier to not get the shot as several countries face a worrying rise in coronavirus cases. 

"The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine," European Medicines Agency (EMA) chief Emer Cooke said Thursday after a probe by the body's safety committee. 

"The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots," she added.

However, the agency "cannot rule out definitively" a link to a rare clotting disorder. 

The UK health regulator on Thursday also said there were no links between blood clots and the AstraZeneca jab, or the Pfizer vaccine. 

"There is no evidence that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine," said June Raine, chief executive of the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 

And the World Health Organization (WHO) said again Thursday it was better to take the AstraZeneca vaccine than not, after saying it was looking into available data on the shot.

- 'Situation critical' -

The furore around the jab has marred the global vaccine drive aimed at ending a pandemic that has killed more than 2.6 million people, and comes as several countries report jumps in new cases.

France recorded its highest daily caseload in nearly four months Wednesday, with the authorities set to announce on Thursday new measures.

"Let's be clear, we're in a third wave mostly down to the rise of this famous British variant," French President Emmanuel Macron said, referring to the more-contagious variant first detected in the UK. 

"The situation is critical. It's going to be very hard until mid-April."

Bulgaria and Ukraine readied for tougher restrictions to stem rising cases, while the WHO issued a grim update on rising infections in Central Europe and the Balkans.

- 'Italy's Wuhan' -

So far, more than 399 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered globally, mostly in wealthier nations that have secured contracts with drug makers. 

AstraZeneca's shot, among the cheapest available and easier to store and transport than some of its rivals, has been billed as the vaccine of choice for poorer nations.

It is currently a vital part of Covax, which was set up to procure Covid-19 vaccines and ensure their equitable distribution around the world.

Countries ranging from France to Venezuela and Indonesia paused the rollout of the jab after several reports emerged of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine. 

The head of WHO Africa said Thursday she hoped the controversy surrounding the British-Swedish jab would not deter people from getting the vaccine on the continent, where more than 16 million vaccine doses, mostly AstraZeneca, have been distributed under the Covax scheme. 

"A lot of countries have doubts" about AstraZeneca, Matshidiso Moeti told reporters. 

"But we hope that will not create doubts around anti-Covid vaccines in general." 

And in Britain, which has not halted the jab, officials insisted that an expected vaccine shortfall at the end of the month would not scupper plans to lift virus restrictions as the government has promised. 

Italy, the first European country to become engulfed by the pandemic, held a national day of mourning Thursday, with a ceremony in Bergamo, the northern city that became known as "Italy's Wuhan".

Italy chose March 18 for the memorial to coincide with the day in 2020 when the army had to step in to carry away scores of coffins from Bergamo's overwhelmed crematorium.

Images of coffin-laden camouflaged trucks crossing the city at night quickly became one of the symbols of the pandemic and still haunt the country today.

- 'Aggressive interventions' -

Meanwhile, vaccination efforts were under way in Chile, where 49 scientists and members of the armed forces working at a research station in the icy wastes of Antarctica got the jab, the first inoculations on the southernmost continent.

Antarctica was one of the last places on Earth to be affected by the virus, but on December 21, an outbreak was reported at a Chilean army base, with 36 people infected.

For some, vaccines have brought a sigh of relief -- especially for those working on the frontlines. 

Being vaccinated has allowed Colombian doctor Norberto Medina to return to his job at an intensive care unit in the capital Bogota feeling "more relaxed". 

Medina, 41, has lived all facets of the pandemic, seeing patients die on his ward, nursing others back to health -- and eventually staring death in the face when he contracted the virus himself.

"The pandemic has changed me forever," he told AFP after he returned to work, 54 days after he was diagnosed.

"It has made me more humane."

Agence France-Presse

Japan to lift Tokyo area state of emergency as planned on Sunday

TOKYO - The Japanese government's advisory panel on coronavirus measures approved on Thursday a plan to let the state of emergency expire in the Tokyo area as scheduled on March 21, while the capital's governor warned citizens not to let down their guard.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had flagged the move on Wednesday, saying the availability of hospital beds had improved in Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures, where restrictions have remained since early January.

"There was no objection to the plan," Economy Minister Yasuhisa Nishimura, who also heads Japan's coronavirus response, said after a meeting with the advisory panel.

He added, however, that experts noted that infections had been creeping up in recent days, and that a resurgence was bound to occur.

While under pressure to bring COVID-19 under control ahead of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the government is eager to jumpstart economic activity in the Greater Tokyo area, whose 36 million residents account for 30 percent of Japan's population.

The number of new COVID-19 cases has plunged from a peak in early January, when the third and most deadly wave of the pandemic swept the country. 

But the daily tally for Tokyo remains far from Governor Yuriko Koike's target of reducing the seven-day average to 70 percent or lower than the preceding week.

On Wednesday, the capital reported 409 cases, compared with a peak of 2,520 on January 7, but the highest since mid-February.

"(The state of emergency will be lifted) on the 21st, but does that mean anything goes after that? No, it doesn't, and we have to see it as entering a new stage," Koike told reporters.

"The first drop of vaccines for (Tokyo's) 14 million has only just begun, and until we're done, we have to fight with our bare hands," she said.

While other parts of the country lifted the emergency status at the end of February, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures extended it, with officials saying they wanted to see a continued decline in infections and hospitalizations.

Under the curbs, restaurants and bars are asked to close by 8 p.m and for companies to allow more telecommuting.

After the lifting of the emergency, the four prefectures will ask eateries to close by 9 p.m., at least until the end of March, to reduce the chance of a resurgence in infections, Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa said on Wednesday.

The government's task force will meet later on Thursday to finalize the plan, followed by a news conference by Prime Minister Suga at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT).

So far in Japan, roughly 449,000 people have tested positive and 8,715 have died from COVID-19 as of Wednesday. 

-reuters-

Global coronavirus deaths fall, as rate of new cases worldwide stays steady

The number of deaths due to COVID-19 dropped by seven percent around the world over the past week, although the rate of new cases remained stable, according to AFP data.

Here is the state of play worldwide:

- Deaths drop -

The number of COVID deaths decreased by seven percent to 62,055 over the past week, an average of 8,865 per day.

The decrease took place mainly in North America, where the number of deaths dropped by a fifth, to 12,282. In Asia, the number of victims decreased by 18 percent to 3,666, while in Africa the figure dropped by 14 percent, for a total of 2,151 deaths. Europe, which mourned the most deaths in the world at 22,795, nevertheless also saw a decrease of four percent in its toll.

The good news was tempered by a nine percent increase in deaths in the Middle East (1,824) and a three percent climb in Latin America and the Caribbean, where there were 19,425 deaths.

- Less than 400,000 daily cases -

With 382,983 new cases recorded every day on average this week, the infection rate is stable compared to the previous week. Last week, it had risen after the number of cases was cut in half between mid-January and mid-February, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.

The number of confirmed cases only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, as different countries have varying counting practices and levels of testing.

- North America down, Europe up -

The number of new cases decreased in particular in North America, with 20 percent less, or 61,608 cases per day. It also decreased by six percent in Africa (9,426) and in Asia (minus four percent, 31,406 cases). 

But the number of new cases increased by 10 percent in the Middle East (31,324), eight percent in Europe (157,760 cases) and three percent in Latin America (91,409). 

The United States remains the country with the most cases in the world with 28,827,140 as well as the most deaths at 520,356.

- Steepest falls -

For the fourth week in a row the biggest drop in new cases took place in Portugal, with 36 percent less, or 815 new cases per day, as a lockdown decreed in mid-January bore fruit.

The United Kingdom followed with 34 percent less, or 6,685 cases, then Spain with 25 percent less, or 4,487 cases, Indonesia (25 percent less, 6,636) and Malaysia (minus 24 percent, 2,035).

- Biggest spikes -

With an 86 percent increase in its number of new cases (5,433), Hungary is the country in which the pandemic has picked up most speed, among nations that recorded more than 1,000 daily cases over the past week. The country had already seen a 69 percent increase the previous week.

Among the other territories which recorded big increases are the West Bank (48 percent, 1,563 daily cases), Estonia (44 percent more, 1,502), Jordan (plus 41 percent, 4,726 cases) and Poland (plus 32 percent, 11,058 cases).

Agence France-Presse

Japan growth slows in Q4 as economy shrinks 4.8 percent

TOKYO - Japan's economy grew at a slower 3 percent in the October-December quarter, government data showed Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on the world's third-largest economy.

The economy shrank 4.8 percent in 2020 -- its first annual contraction since 2009.

Last year, virus restrictions and a 2019 consumption tax hike forced Japan into recession before a third-quarter rebound to 5.3 percent growth, a figure revised upwards slightly on Monday.

Japan emerged from recession in November after recording its worst contraction since comparable figures began to be collected in 1980, exceeding even the pain of the 2008-9 global financial crisis.

Domestic demand and net exports contributed to growth in the fourth quarter, the cabinet office said, adding that spending on housing and corporate investment rebounded.

While Monday's figure for the fourth quarter was above the 2.4 percent predicted by economists polled by Bloomberg, it sounds the alarm for the first quarter of 2021.

Covid-19 cases began surging in Japan in late December, prompting the government to impose a virus state of emergency in much of the country including Tokyo and Osaka.

"A decline in GDP appears unavoidable in Q1 2021 due to the state of emergency declared by the government in a number of Japanese prefectures," said Naoya Oshikubo, senior economist at SuMi Trust, in a note published ahead of Monday's figure.

Japan's virus measures are limited, with bars and restaurants requested but not obliged to close by 8 p.m. and working from home strongly recommended. There are no blanket stay-at-home orders. 

Oshikubo said the relative leniency of these emergency measures could help mitigate the expected contraction in the first quarter.

Agence France-Presse

Chinese social media tributes mark anniversary of whistleblower doctor's death

Thousands of Chinese social media users paid tribute to Li Wenliang on Saturday, marking the one year anniversary of the death of the doctor who first blew the whistle on the coronavirus outbreak.

Li, one of a group of doctors in Wuhan who shared posts on social media warning of a SARS-like virus spreading in the central city in December 2019, was reprimanded by police for spreading "rumours".

His death in February last year after catching the virus from a patient prompted a national outpouring of grief, as well as anger at the government's handling of the crisis and bold demands for political reforms.

The Chinese government has since promoted an official narrative centred on its efficient handling of the outbreak as local transmissions have largely been brought under control and censors swiftly scrub the more critical comments from the internet.

But Li's personal page on the Twitter-like Weibo platform remains a rare space for users to commemorate the trauma of the early outbreak after the country imposed a strict lockdown on millions of people in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.

Commenters marked the anniversary of his death with thousands of messages, ranging from candle emoticons to updates on their own lives addressed to the late doctor.

"Dr. Li, the weather is great today where I live ... everyone around me is trying their best in life, all is good, happy lunar new year" one Weibo user wrote Saturday in a comment on Li's last post, which has attracted more than a million comments, mostly after his death.

"I thought everyone would have forgotten you after a year," wrote another commenter.

"I was wrong, you live forever in the hearts of the Chinese people."

Wuhan city itself, however, showed few outward indications of mourning.

There was little sign of tributes outside Wuhan Central Hospital where the 24-year-old ophthalmologist first warned colleagues of the mysterious new virus, in stark contrast with the photos and bouquets left by mourners a year ago.

The city where the virus was first detected is now playing host to a delegation of World Health Organization inspectors searching for clues to the source of the pandemic.

The sensitive mission, which China had delayed throughout the first year of the international health crisis, has already visited the Huanan Seafood Market where many of the first known patients worked.

The experts have also toured a controversial Wuhan virology institute at the heart of conspiracy theories about the disease's origins.

Life in Wuhan, a city of 11 million, has largely returned to normal, with bustling shopping malls and lively night markets months after the world's first Covid lockdown was lifted in April.

"Last year, there were no people or cars on the street, and the only vehicle on the road was an ambulance, so I felt very empty inside" Wuhan resident Hou Mingli told AFP.

A year later, Hou said, "I feel much warmth and comfort."

Agence France-Presse

UK retailer Marks and Spencer to axe 7,000 jobs

LONDON - Marks and Spencer, the British retail chain selling clothing and food, is to cut around 7,000 jobs as the coronavirus pandemic keeps shoppers away from its stores, it announced Tuesday.

The job cuts, to be carried out over the next three months, include losses from its central support centre, in regional management and in its UK stores, M&S said in statement.

Agence France-Presse

Coronavirus deaths top 150,000 in worst-hit US

Southern and western regions of the United States were grappling Thursday with a renewed surge of coronavirus infections as the death toll in the world's worst-affected nation passed 150,000.

Brazil is second to the US in terms of cases and fatalities, and also reported a sobering figure as it surpassed 90,000 deaths.

Exactly six months after the World Health Organization declared an international emergency over the deadly pathogen, countries around the globe are seeing rises in infections that are damaging economies and forcing disruptive protection measures.

Even nations that believed they had largely curbed the disease are being gripped by worrying second and third-wave resurgences, with Australia on Thursday reporting a record number of new infections and its deadliest day of the pandemic so far.

Despite efforts in place to contain the virus, COVID-19 has killed more than 666,000 people around the world and total infections have passed 17 million, according to an AFP tally.

Global daily cases are now approaching the 300,000 mark, with the curve showing no sign of flattening -- it took just 100 hours for one million new cases to be recorded.

- Surge in Australia -

Days after Australian authorities expressed hope that a Melbourne lockdown -- now in its third week -- was bringing persistent outbreaks under control, the surge is a potent warning that initial successes in managing COVID-19 can quickly unravel.

Thirteen deaths and 723 positive tests were reported in the southeastern state of Victoria alone, well beyond the previous nationwide record of 549 cases set on Monday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the steep rise in numbers was "very concerning".

In Hong Kong, where authorities fear a worrying third-wave of infections could cripple the healthcare system, the government reversed a day-old ban on restaurants serving dine-in customers following widespread public anger.

All restaurants in the city of 7.5 million were ordered to only serve takeaways as part of a raft of ramped-up social distancing measures aimed at combating the fresh wave of virus cases.

But social media was quickly swamped by photos of primarily blue-collar workers forced to eat on pavements and in parks -- and even inside public toilets to escape a torrential downpour.

The United States, however, is still battling its first wave, having never taken control of the virus, and on Wednesday alone the country recorded 1,267 new deaths in the past 24 hours and notched more than 68,000 new daily cases.

Southern and western states have been particularly hard-hit -- especially Florida, where more than 6,300 people have died.


- EU travel list -

The EU is due Thursday to update its list of countries approved for travel to the European bloc, which it reviews every two weeks. The United States was not on the list and is not expected to be included.

The EU's safe list does, however, include Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

The bloc is expected to announce that Algeria is being removed from the list after a resurgence of coronavirus.

Meanwhile several countries in Europe have slapped restrictions on travel to and from Spain, while officials elsewhere bicker over the seriousness of the current outbreak.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, fresh from announcing quarantine for travelers returning from Spain, suggested the rest of Europe could be facing a second wave -- despite his own country's dismal figures.

France's health minister hit back on Wednesday, saying his country was categorically not in a second wave.

Spain, one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic, insists it is a safe destination and was critical of Britain's blanket quarantine, which includes islands without significant outbreaks.

Brazil also wants visitors back, and on Wednesday reopened travel to foreigners arriving by plane, hoping to revive its lockdown-devastated tourism industry. The country closed its air borders to non-residents on March 30, at a time when the virus was just taking hold in South America.

Neighboring Peru on Wednesday passed 400,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health ministry said, after the largest daily increase in infections for more than six weeks.

Nearly 19,000 people have died as a result of the disease nationwide, and the country has recorded more COVID-19 cases than anywhere in Latin America except for Brazil and Mexico.

Agence France-Presse bureaus

Unilab releases P665 million for COVID-19 response

MANILA - Pharma giant Unilab Inc said it released P665 million for its COVID-19 response effort and the amount could top the P1 billion mark in the coming weeks.

Unilab said it delivered to its partners P317 million in essential medicines and vitamins, P192 million in personal protective equipment sets consist of coveralls, isolation gowns, face shields, N95 and surgical masks, gloves and shoe covers, P45 million in alcohol, hygiene and basic protective kits, P50 million support for COVID-19 test kit development and P11 million worth of ventilators.

It also supported fundraising drives of civil society groups for the marginalized communities with donations worth P50 million, Unilab said.

The Campos Hess-led firm said it would continue to share its resources tor the country's COVID-19 response.

With "husay and malasakit" as its core values, Unilab said it displayed expertise in responding to crisis situations by determining the kind of support appropriate to the vulnerable sector in collaboration with the Department of Health and the country's coronavirus task force.

Over 400 hospitals nationwide have received support from the firm, it said.

Unilab said it partnered with the Department of Science and Technologu (DOST), University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) and other public and private organizations for the possibility of "significant increase" in the country's testing capacity, which is vital in containing the spread of COVID-19.

Various private firms in the country have also extended millions in support for the government's fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

As of April 19, the Philippines has a total of 6,259 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 572 recoveries and 409 deaths.

news.abs-cbn.com

Jollibee 'ready-to-cook' items for sale during COVID-19 lockdown

MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp said Friday it made available ready-to-cook items in select stores for take-out or drive thru after it closed outlets to dine-in customers during the 1-month lockdown of Luzon.

A limited time offer "ready-to-cook" menu went viral online which includes the marinated and spicy version of its famous Chickenjoy. 

In a response to a Twitter user, Jollibee said "the ready-to-cook-items are available in Jollibee stores nationwide that are open for take out and drive thru, until supplies last."


Ready-to-eat beef tapa, tuna pie, french fries and grated cheese are also available, based on the menu. Participating branches are listed on its official website, JFC said.

Restaurants are allowed to operate take-out and delivery services during the Luzon-wide COVID-19 lockdown effective until April 12.

source: news.abs-cbn.com