Presidential adviser wants NCR Plus reopened after 2-week ECQ

After the two-week enhanced community quarantine in NCR Plus area, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion on Friday recommended returning the region to previous status and opening the economy.

Interviewed on "Dobol B TV," Concepcion said the two-week implementation of the strictest quarantine classification in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal should have worked.

“I believe we already finished the two weeks. Let's all go back and open [the economy],” he said when asked about entrepreneurs' position on the possible extension of the ECQ.

Concepcion said COVID-19 cases should be monitored. And in his assessment, the number of cases will go down with the implementation of the ECQ.

In case the number still rises, Concepcion said the government can reimpose a lockdown.

He noted that the economy is suffering from a “serious condition.”

Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the national government placed the NCR Plus under ECQ initially from March 29 to April 4 with a new set of regulations, but it was extended until April 11.

Under the ECQ, the operations of businesses were limited. —LBG, GMA News