Duterte places Metro Manila under GCQ beginning June 1

Metro Manila will shift to a less stringent general community quarantine on June 1 despite warnings from several experts that it was too early to ease restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

In a televised address on Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte said the national capital region will transition from the modified enhanced community quarantine to GCQ by June 1 following the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Duterte’s decision came hours after the Philippines reported 539 new infections, the biggest single-day spike since the outbreak started early this year. Metro Manila accounted for the majority of the new cases (330 or 61%).

Duterte added that Davao City will remain under GCQ, while Regions 2, 3, 4A, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Albay will also be placed under GCQ "until we have reviewed the general situation."

"We are not happy to put you in this place but after [the] review, maybe we can," he said.

Cebu City will be under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), while Iloilo City and Baguio City will be under GCQ.

The rest of the country will be placed under a modified GCQ, the President added.

"In other areas, it will be again on a piecemeal basis depending on the viability of the place to meet the challenges of COVID," he said.

GCQ

The GCQ will pave the way for more businesses to reopen and for a percentage of workers to return to work provided that health protocols like social distancing and wearing of face masks are observed.

Leisure establishments like cinemas as well as gyms and fitness studios and operations by travel agencies must remain closed under GCQ.

The road, rail, maritime and aviation sectors of public transportation are allowed to operate at a reduced operational and vehicle capacity provided that social distancing is observed.

Mass gatherings such as but not limited to movie screenings, concerts, sporting events and other entertainment activities, community assemblies and non-essential work gatherings are still prohibited.

Gatherings that are intended for the provision of critical government services and authorized humanitarian activities while observing the minimum health standards will be allowed.

Religious gatherings are not encouraged although these should be limited to 10 persons. 

Outdoor non-contact sports and other forms of exercise such as walking, jogging, running, biking, golf, swimming, tennis, badminton, equestrian and skateboarding are allowed as long as the wearing of face masks, the maintenance of social distancing protocols and no sharing of equipment where applicable, are observed.

Modified GCQ

Concerts, movie screenings, sporting events and religious gatherings will be allowed in modified GCQ areas, subject to conditions. Barbershops, salons and other personal care service establishments as well as dine-service in food establishments will be allowed to operate at a maximum 50% of venue or seating capacity.

Other establishments such as gyms/fitness studios, travel agencies and tour operators can reopen at a maximum 50% operational capacity. Accredited diplomatic missions and international organizations may resume operations while indoor and outdoor non-contact sports and other forms of exercise are allowed.

Metro Manila mayors had pushed for the shift to a GCQ, citing the need to revitalize the region’s economy that has been severely affected by restrictions on businesses.

Concerns

However, researchers from the University of the Philippines urged the national government to continue the modified ECQ in the NCR—the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country—and consider the same in other high-risk areas.

The UP researchers concluded that there was almost no change in the week-to-week number of new COVID-19 cases in the NCR during the first 10 days of the implementation of MECQ, or from May 16 to 25, based on data from the Department of Health.

They also said that the average number of new COVID-19 cases in NCR during that period was greater than five per day per million of population.

Researchers from the University of Santo Tomas also said the National Capital Region should remain under the MECQ, projecting that the total number of cases in Metro Manila “will continue to increase gradually and will not plateau for many months, though the forecasted number of active cases will also be decreasing.”

As of Thursday, the Philippines had 15,588 COVID-19 cases, with 921 deaths and 3,598 recoveries.  -NB/BM/MDM, GMA News