President Rodrigo Duterte has extended the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and other high-risk areas up to May 15, his spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement this morning.
Based on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, the following provinces will remain under ECQ: Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Albay, Catanduanes, Antique, Iloilo, Cebu, Aklan, Capiz, Davao del Norte, and Davao de Oro.
Davao City and Cebu City were also placed under ECQ. Meanwhile, Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Zambales are under ECQ, but this may change by April 30.
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“High-risk areas will be under ECQ until May 15, subject for further evaluation. Moderate-risk areas meanwhile will be under general community quarantine until May 15, also subject to further evaluation. Low-risk areas will fall under general community quarantine [GCQ] until May 15, and if there is no deterioration, GCQ will be relaxed leading to normalization,” Roque said.
A minimum health standard will be implemented by April 27, which various agencies, such as the Department of Health and Transportation, will prepare by April 25. Work will resume in areas which are under GCQ, but children, the elderly and ill people are required to stay home.
“For GCQ areas, restricted mall opening covering non-leisure shops would be allowed. There will be [a] mandatory temperature check, [the] mandatory wearing of masks, [and] mandatory alcohol use. [A] limited number of people, particularly those with age 21 to 59, with ID and not looking sickly, would be allowed to go inside,” Roque said.
“Priority and essential construction projects would likewise be allowed to resume, subject to minimum health standards, physical distancing, and barracks for workers. Public transport modes would likewise be allowed to operate at reduced capacity. Local government units (LGUs) would enforce curfew at night for non-workers,” he added.
The island of Luzon, the home of roughly half of the Philippines’ 100 million population, was placed under lockdown on March 17 to curb the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was supposed to end on April 30.
There are currently 6,981 COVID-19 reported cases in the Philippines, with 462 deaths and 722 recoveries.
