DESPITE the ongoing influx in daily new Covid-19 cases nationwide, the government decided to ease community lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its surrounding provinces, which are currently the epicenter of infections in the country.
In an online press briefing on Sunday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to downgrade the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the said areas to a modified ECQ (MECQ), instead.
He said the MECQ classification will apply to NCR Plus, which includes Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite.
These areas will join Santiago, Quirino and Abra, which were already under MECQ since April 1, 2021.
Month-long effectivity
Meanwhile, Roque said areas which will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) are the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) as well as the provinces of Cagayan, Isabella, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Lanao Del Sur and Quezon.
Also placed under GCQ are the cities of Tacloban, Iligan, and Davao City.
The rest of the country will be placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
The updated community quarantine classification, Roque said, will be in effect starting on April 12, 2021 and last until the end of the month.
MECQ guidelines
Roque said he will announce the details of the quarantine protocols, including on curfews, in MECQ classifications of NCR Plus on Monday.
“On curfew, while Mayors and Governors have not yet agreed on modified hours, it remains as is. Consultations already ongoing and a decision may be made soon,” Roque said.
Late Sunday, however, the Metro Manila Mayors Council reached a decision to shorten the curfew hours from 8pm to 5am.
Since the effectivity of the ECQ in NCR plus on March 29, 2021, mayors in Metro Manila had jointly decided to impose a 6 pm to 5 am curfew.
Under the IATF’s Omnibus Guidelines for Community Quarantine as of April 3, 2021, movement of persons will remain limited to accessing essential goods and services, and for work in establishments that are allowed to operate under the quarantine classification.
The Department of Trade and Industry is authorized to issue a “negative list” of industries that will remain prohibited in MECQ areas.
Additional capacity
He said the IATF opted to relax the quarantine restriction after 104 private and public health facilities in NCR Plus committed to expand the allotted bed capacity for Covid-19 patients.
Their commitment includes an additional 164 Covid-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 1,157 regular beds.
Likewise, he said the government was also able to open up additional quarantine and isolation facilities with 1,835-bed capacity.
“This is a total of 3,156 beds [for Covid-19 patients] in NCR plus,” Roque said.
Without the additional beds, Roque said 74.34 percent of the 1,395 Covid-19 ICU beds in NCR, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon are already occupied.
Roque said 46.04 percent of the 6,367 Covd-19 wards beds and 59.56 percent of the 9,071 Covid-19 isolation beds in the same areas are now also occupied.
NCR Plus was placed under ECQ last March 29, 2021 to prevent healthcare facilities in these area from being overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases, which kept surging.
The Department of Health (DOH) said there are currently 864,868 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country. Of which, 11,681 were registered on Sunday.
Related story: Metro Manila mayors adjust unified curfew hours to 8pm-5am, as NCR Plus goes MECQ
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