The Philippines is allowing police to shoot dead anyone not adhering to the coronavirus curfew and one man has already lost his life. He was shot dead after he was scolded by a health official for not wearing a face mask.
The 63-year-old flew into a rage after receiving the warning from the health care worker in the town of Nasipit in south Philippines.
He is thought to have been drunk at the time, a police report claimed. The man grabbed a scythe and began threatening officials with it at the coronavirus checkpoint.
"The suspect was cautioned by a village health worker ... for not wearing a face mask," the report said. "But the suspect got angry, uttering provoking words and eventually attacked the personnel using a scythe."
A police officer shot him dead after reportedly trying to calm him.
The death is the first coronavirus related killing to take place in the country after President Rodrigo Duterte warned anyone not following lockdown measures would be shot. In a televised address last week the controversial leader said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures.
He also said the abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated.
Amnesty International condemned the remarks as "deeply alarming" and said they follow reports of inhumane punishments for lawbreakers of the coronavirus lockdown, such as being detained in dog cages and sitting for hours in the sun.
There have been 3,660 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Philippines and 414 deaths.
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