The Philippine economy will take more than a decade to return to pre-pandemic growth, an official said on Thursday, warning that the next two generations of Filipinos would be paying for the cost of Covid-19, AFP reports.

Lockdowns and other restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus have shattered the Southeast Asian nation's economy, throwing millions out of work and leaving many poor families hungry.

“Our long run total cost of Covid and the quarantine both to the present and future society — meaning our children and our grandchildren — will reach 41.4 trillion (pesos, or $810 billion)," Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.