30-day community quarantine to provide stability to LGUs’ COVID-19 response -Palace

Malacañang on Tuesday said a longer quarantine period is expected to augur well for the local government units’ (LGUs) objective of curbing the spread of COVID-19 in their communities.

“Minabuti na po ng IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] na gawing isang buwan para magkaroon ng stability iyong iba’t ibang mga lokal na pamahalaan,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approved the coronavirus task force’s recommendation of a 30-day quarantine across the country beginning this September instead of the usual 15 days.

Duterte placed Iligan City under modified enhanced community quarantine from September 1 to 30. He also maintained the general community quarantine (GCQ) classification for Metro Manila.

Other areas under GCQ are Bulacan, Batangas, Bacolod City, and Tacloban City. The rest of the Philippines is under modified general community quarantine.

“Napakahirap po kasi kung magbabago ang rules every two weeks. So ngayong every month na po, hindi lang siya magiging stable at mas malo-localize po kasi ngayon iyong mga ginagawa ng mga LGUs kasama na rin po diyan iyong mga localized at granular lockdowns. So parang mas mayroon pong continuity kung one month,” Roque said.

The Philippines tallied 224,264 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, including 158,012 recoveries and 3,597 deaths.—AOL, GMA News