[ad_1]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 10) – President Rodrigo Duterte will decide on Monday whether or not to extend the improved community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas with a large number of COVID-19 cases.
Duterte is expected to address the issue during his weekly televised briefing as he informs the nation of his administration’s efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be the third time that the President has made a decision on the extension or lifting of the ECQ.
Over the weekend, the 17 mayors of Metro Manila agreed not to make a specific recommendation to the Interinstitutional Working Group for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) regarding the ECQ, saying they will abide by the President’s decision.
The General Manager of the Metropolitan Development Authority of Manila, Jojo García, said that the mayors agreed that there should only be one policy for the entire Metro Manila. He said that having different quarantine rules for each area is not an option, citing the difficulty of implementing them considering the contiguous and porous nature of its borders.
The Metro Manila Council, made up of the mayors of the NCR and the MMDA, was expected to present its proposal to the IATF on whether to facilitate or maintain strict quarantine measures.
Garcia said that mayors presented the working group with three possible scenarios: extending the ECQ for two weeks, placing Metro Manila under a more relaxed community quarantine, or opting for a hybrid of the two.
Previously, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said that the mayors’ speech will be a “big factor” in the final recommendation that the working group will present to Duterte. The IATF-EID will discuss and assess the situation also on Monday, before the final recommendation to the President.
Duterte will have the last word on whether to extend or ease the quarantine measures applied in Metro Manila and various provinces beyond May 15. It first placed Metro Manila under enhanced community quarantine on March 15, but was expanded the following day to cover all of Luzon until April 12.
The Luzon blockade lasted until April 30. Metro Manila and several “high risk” provinces have remained under strict quarantine.
Starting at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the Health Department registered 10,794 cases of COVID-19 in the country.
DOH reported 77 new infections in the National Capital Region, 75 in Central Visayas and 32 more in other regions across the country.
Meanwhile, recoveries have reached 1,924 after 82 more patients survived the viral illness. Fifteen more patients have died, bringing the death toll to 719.
[ad_2]
