<span style="color: #222222;">In Philippines, Manila and nearby provinces will return to stricter quarantine measures from Monday as the country battles to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, the measures, which will be in place until April 4, will ban non-essential movement, mass gatherings, dining in restaurants.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The health ministry on Saturday reported 9,595 new coronavirus cases, marking the second straight day the daily jump in infections remained above 9,000.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Authorities attribute the spike in infections to the more transmissible new coronavirus variants like those first identified in South Africa and Britain. Both have been detected in the Philippines.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Lockdowns have taken a huge toll on the Philippine economy, which contracted by a record 9.5 per cent last year.</span><br />''  <br />