Philippine capital Metro Manila, two other areas under ‘modified’ quarantine till May 31

MANILA, May 12, 2020, The Manila Times. President Rodrigo Duterte kept Metro Manila, and two other areas under “modified” enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) while placing the rest of the country under general community quarantine (GCQ), Malacañang announced on Tuesday, The Manila Times reported.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Emerging Infectious Diseases to also place Laguna and Cebu City in the Visayas under a modified ECQ to effectively stop the spread of of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Under a modified ECQ, Roque said the movement of people in these areas, which the IATF classified as “high risk communities, would continue to be severely restricted under the extended lockdown.

He said local governments could allow the limited resumption of public transportation, certain industries to operate at half capacity, and persons to leave their houses only for essential goods and work.

However, the government is still finalizing which industries will be allowed to resume operations, he added.

The Philippines has recorded 11,086 Covid-19 infections, with 726 deaths and 1,999 recoveries.

Of the total cases, 7,123 or over 62 percent were recorded in the National Capital Region, according to the Department of Health Covid-19 tracker.

Cebu City has 1,400 cases while Laguna has 384.

Meanwhile, Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), Region 3 (Central Luzon), Region 4-A (Calabarzon) except Laguna, Cordillera, Region 7 ( Central Visayas) except Cebu, Region 9 (Zamboanga), Region 11 (Davao) and Region 13 (Caraga) will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) while the rest will not be under any quarantine but must follow health guidelines.

Regions that will no longer be placed under ECQ or GCQ from May 16 are Region 1, Region 4-B (Mimaropa), Region 5 (Bicol), Region 6 (Western Visayas), Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), Region 12 (Soccsksargen), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.Duterte first placed Metro Manila under ECQ on March 15, but this expanded the next day to cover all of Luzon until April 15.The Luzon-wide lockdown was further extended until April 30, and then another 15 days in Metro Manila and several “high-risk” provinces to give the government time to increase the country’s testing capacity.