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MANILA, Philippines – Commerce Secretary Ramón López said Monday that quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces should be eased, as the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could slow down if people had ” self-discipline. “
López told a press conference that he believed Metro Manila and nearby provinces should be placed under modified general community quarantine so that more sectors of the economy can be reopened.
The metropolis is under general community quarantine until the end of September, and the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the temporary government body that oversees the administration’s coronavirus response, has made no recommendation for its lifting. or extension.
Just your sight
“After six months with the virus… I think [have learned] how to move [with] and how to handle the virus, ”López said. “In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, we could already push for a lighter community quarantine because the important thing here is that the whole country has self-discipline and self-regulation so that the transmission [rate] it would go down … That would allow us to open more sectors [of] the economy.”
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has his own recommendation, although it is not a quarantine level.
Speaking at a press conference in the city of Cagayan de Oro, Roque said that he had suggested to the task force to place parts of the country with zero coronavirus infection in the last month under a new classification for October: “new normal.”
“We are still data-driven and science-driven,” he said. “I suggested myself, and the [task force] agreed, that areas with zero transmission during the last month can be declared as under the new normal. In that sense, we will have a new classification. There will be a new normal in addition to the modified general community quarantine. “
López and Roque spoke hours before the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,475 additional coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 290,190.
Most cases in Metro
Metro Manila still had the highest number of new infections, 1,543, followed by Batangas (194), Rizal (192), Cavite (166) and Cebu (165).
The DOH said 400 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 230,233. But the death toll rose to 4,999 with the death of 15 more patients.
Eight of the recently reported deaths died this month, six in August and one in April.
Deaths and recoveries left the country with 54,958 active cases, of which 86.6 percent are mild, 8.9 percent asymptomatic, 1.4 percent severe, and 3.1 percent critical. –REPORTS BY ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL, JULIE M. AURELIO AND JOVIC YEE INQ
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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