PRESIDENTIAL spokesman Harry Roque on Monday said areas with a high number of cases of COVID-19 infections will likely stay under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), among them two cities in Metro Manila and two regions in Luzon.
Roque said the decision on the lifting or possible extension again of the ECQ in Metro Manila and other areas with high infection rates was discussed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Monday. President Duterte was expected to make an announcement last night.
Roque reiterated that the economy, science, data on the number of confirmed COVID-19 in an area, transmission speed of the novel coronavirus and the availability of critical care for those infected will be the primary consideration for the President’s decision.
Roque said that based on the May 10 data from the Department of Health, of the close to 11,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, more than half are in Metro Manila (6,993).
The rest of the top 10 regions with the high number of positive cases include Central Visayas (1,496), Calabarzon (1,259), Central Luzon (402), Davao region (172), Western Visayas (96), Ilocos Region (63), Bicol (60), Zamboanga Peninsula (49), and Cordillera Administrative Region (42).
In terms of death and recovery, the highest number are also in Metro Manila (521 deaths, 1,384 recovery), followed by Calabarzon (88 deaths, 192 recovery), and Central Luzon (28 deaths, 76 recovery).
“Dito po sa Metro Manila, makikita ninyo po na iyong mga critical areas ay kasama po diyan ang Quezon City, ang City of Manila, iyan po iyong dalawang may pinakamataas na pigura; pangatlo po ang Parañaque; tapos ang Makati at ang Mandaluyong (Here in Metro Manila, you can see that the critical areas include Quezon City, City of Manila, the two with the highest figure; third is Parañaque; next is Makati and Mandaluyong),” Roque said.
Quezon City recorded 1,558 confirmed cases, 133 deaths and 395 recoveries; followed by Manila with 811 cases, 67 deaths and 179 recoveries; Parañaque with 500 cases, including 39 deaths and 113 recoveries; Makati with 477 cases, 31 deaths and 142 recoveries; and Mandaluyong with 446 cases, 33 deaths and 73 recoveries.
Roque said he does not want to speculate or pre-empt the President’s decision but “the recommendations of (Metro Manila) mayors will be considered”.
The recommendations of the Metro Manila mayors include an extension of the ECQ for up to two weeks, a move to the GCQ, and an ECQ in areas with high cases of confirmed COVID-19 and reducing the lockdown to a GCQ in other areas with low cases of confirmed coronavirus.
The ECQ is in effect until May 15 in Metro Manila, Central Luzon except Aurora, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, Benguet, Albay, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Davao City and Zamboanga City. The rest of the country is under GCQ.
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Roque acknowledged concerns that the number of COVID-19 cases might again go up if the places with high cases coronavirus are placed under the GCQ.
He said the country had already started to improve its capacity to take care of critical cases and continues to adopt measures that would further improve the country’s health care system.
“The decision whether or not we will shift from ECQ to GCQ is precisely the issue if can we provide critical care to those who might get sick. And as we can see now, we have capacity to take in more critical care patients that’s why there are areas that will be declared under GCQ instead of ECQ,” he said.
