Untrue that Metro Manila shifting to MECQ –Lorenzana

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana denied rumors that Metro Manila would be placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) on Saturday night.

“As the President had earlier announced, Metro Manila shall remain under General Community Quarantine until the end of the year. Neither the IATF nor the mayors of Metro Manila recommended any shift in the quarantine status in this period,” Lorenzana said in a statement.

A fake document supposedly from the Philippine National Police proclaiming the supposed shift circulated on social media.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the document is fake.

"Fake news yan," he said, according to GMA News reporter Joseph Morong.

Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander Police Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag also denied the rumors.

“IATF lang pwedeng mag issue ng risk classification,” Binag said in a message to GMA News Online.

Meanwhile, Lorenzana said that the situation was stable enough that a shift back into an MECQ was unwarranted.

“[W]e appeal for the public's cooperation in observing the health protocols we have in place, such as wearing of masks and face shields in public, washing of hands and practicing social distancing,” said the Defense Secretary.

“Let us avoid going to crowded places and holding social gatherings in the meantime to help prevent a possible surge in cases during this holiday season,” he added.

The Philippines has 458,044 COVID-19 cases with 421,086 recoveries and 8,911 fatalities.  — DVM/KG, GMA News