HEADS UP: How COVID Surge Changed the New Normal (March 12)

Here's a heads up from Reportr.World on news that you need to know today, March 12:

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• The new normal in Metro Manila has changed because of the COVID surge. Here's what you need to know.
• Here's a list of cities in the capital region with localized lockdowns and their curfew hours. The DILG also called on mayors to synchronize their curfews.
• Here's what a localized lockdown looks like in 2021, one year since the first large-scale lockdown or ECQ.
• If you're queer and have had it with homophobic relatives, here's advice from good vibes vlogger Mimiyuuuh.

TOP STORIES

• Governors favor test before entry to avoid spikes in COVID cases outside Metro Manila. Check the requirements of your destination before traveling.
• The main government portal, Gov.ph, was inaccessible yesterday following a cyberattack that was claimed by rights activists.
• Spotify is restoring hundreds of KPOP songs in its streaming library that were taken down because of a contractual dispute with a big pop label.
• Billionaire Andrew Tan is going ahead of fellow tycoons in providing free COVID vaccines to employees.
• Joggers and cyclists in QC take note: UP Diliman is closing off the oval and other public spaces on campus indefinitely starting March 12 to arrest the spike in coronavirus infections.
• The LRT-2 will be able to ferry more passengers as refurbished trains return to the tracks in April, in time for the opening of the Marikina and Antipolo stations.
• A grim record in Brazil that is home to world's second worst COVID outbreak. It recorded 2,000 deaths in 24 hours.
• Buckingham Palace will answer racism allegations made by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
• The pandemic has restricted womens' access to contraceptives, according to the UN, putting them at risk of unplanned pregnancies.

Here's an update on COVID-19 cases as of 4 p.m. of March 11: