Philippine capital Manila may shift into a more relaxed quarantine regime by June 1: Official

MANILA, May 25, 2020, The Manila Times. Metro Manila may shift into a more relaxed quarantine regime by June 1, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Sunday (May 24). The metropolis is under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), which has strict restrictions on travel, the reopening of businesses and mass gatherings, The Manila Times reported.

Lorenzana told reporters in a text message that Metro Manila could be “downgraded” to a general community quarantine (GCQ) area.

He mentioned encouraging signs that “new cases [are] not increasing, death is in the single digits [and] recoveries [are] increasing.”

Last Saturday, at the sidelines of an agricultural seminar in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Lorenzana, the designated head of the National Task Force against Covid-19, first mentioned the possibility of transitioning to GCQ by June 1, when the MECQ lapses.

“We would like to impress on our people the need for self-discipline; so, they will get used to the new normal such as the social distancing, wearing of face masks, sanitation and other office protocols; so, that it will become a norm; so, we can avoid the second wave,” he said.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will also be monitoring the trend in Covid cases this week and will meet to decide whether the capital region, or some areas of it, are ready for the GCQ transition.

Other areas under MECQ may also shift to general quarantine, according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

Still under MECQ are Cebu City, Mandaue City and several areas in Luzon including Metro Manila, Laguna, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Angeles City and Zambales.

Areas under GCQ may soon transition to the more relaxed modified GCQ.

On Sunday, the Department of Health (DoH) reported 258 Covid cases bringing the total to 14,035.

Most of the cases were again from Metro Manila with 114 or 63 percent.

The DoH said 9,918 of the new cases are classified as “active cases.” A patient is considered as an active case when he or she has neither died nor recovered.

The recovery count stands at 3,249 after 72 new recoveries were reported Sunday.

Five new deaths raised the tally to 868.

According to the John Hopkins University Tracker, the Philippines is third in terms of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia.

Singapore leads the tally with 31,616, and Indonesia is second at 21,745.

Indonesia has the highest death toll at 1,351.

Worldwide, the number of cases is 5.3 million, and the death toll is 342,000.