HARRY ROQUE SAYS

Duterte to announce new quarantine status for NCR, nearby areas Aug. 17

President Rodrigo Duterte will announce the new quarantine classifications for the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces on August 17, Malacañang said Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte's announcement will be made a day before the expiration of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal.

Duterte's spokesperson also said the government’s COVID-19 task force has already prepared the possible status of provinces and cities whose quarantine classifications will end on August 15.

Duterte placed Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan under MECQ or stricter lockdown from August 4 to 18 following pleas from the medical community for a “timeout” amid rising COVID-19 cases being admitted to hospitals, and recalibration of strategies to combat the virus.

Metro Manila Council chairperson and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said on Thursday that he expects that NCR will be placed under general community quarantine in the coming days, claiming that the implementation of the MECQ has been effective.

Olivarez said Parañaque has seen a decline in the number of active cases due to the MECQ.

Roque earlier said the effects of the MECQ would be felt two to three weeks after its enforcement. —LBG, GMA News