MECQ in NCR? Duque says IATF to discuss it

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the government's policy-making body in addressing the pandemic, will still discuss if Metro Manila will be placed under modified enhanced community quarantine, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.

"Paguusapan namin mamaya sa IATF kung may batayan ba na mag-MECQ with... hindi ko alam kung kanilang panukala ay heightened restrictions na MECQ, huwag palabasin 'yung mga non-essential workers or mga non-essential activities huwag payagan," Duque said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

(We will discuss it later in our IATF meeting if there's a basis to place NCR under MECQ. I don't know yet if they are suggesting that it will be MECQ with heightened restrictions  where non-essential workers will not be allowed to go out and non-essential activities are not yet allowed.)

At present, the National Capital Region is under the strictest form of quarantine, the enhanced community quarantine, in a bid to prevent the spread of the more infectious Delta variant.

The ECQ in the capital region will last until August 20.

Earlier, the Department of Health said the ECQ could be extended due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

So far, the Philippines has a total of 1,688,040 infections, with 29,374 deaths.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 1,577,267. — RSJ, GMA News