Duterte extends GCQ in NCR, Davao, several other areas until January 31, 2021

President Rodrigo Duterte has extended the general community quarantine in Metro Manila to January 31, 2021.

In a public address aired on Monday night, Duterte said the following areas are under GCQ:

• NCR
• Isabela
• Santiago City
• Batangas
• Iloilo City 
• Tacloban City
• Lanao del Sur
• Iligan City
• Davao City
• Davao del Norte

Duterte placed the rest of the country under modified GCQ.

"The abovementioned risk-level classifications will take effect starting Friday, January 1 until January 31, 2020, subject to local government units’ appeals," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

During the briefing, Duterte urged Filipinos to stay home if they do not  need to go out. “The rule is kung maaaring hindi ka lumabas ng bahay, ‘wag ka na lumabas. Kung marami kang utang, ‘wag kang lumabas talaga mas lalo na. Kung mayroon kang inano na anak na babae na niloko mo, ‘wag ka rin lumabas talaga so it’s a stay home if it’s really possible, kung kaya mo lang. It’s for your own good and the washing of hands,” he said.

The Philippines has so far recorded 470,650 cases of COVID-19, including 438,780 recoveries and 9,124 fatalities.

There are also 22,746 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.

Earlier, an expert from the OCTA Research group said the holiday surge in infections would become more evident in the first two weeks of January due to the incubation period of the virus, which could take up to 14 days.

Researchers previously sounded the alarm on the start of a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases in the capital region amid the holiday season.

Meanwhile, Philippine Council for Health Research Development executive director Jaime Montoya said the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines may be the first to be rolled out in the country if negotiations prove fruitful.

The Philippines had already allocated P73.2 billion for the procurement of the vaccines, with P40 billion coming from multilateral agencies, P20 billion from domestic sources, and P13.2 billion from bilateral agreements. — NB/BM, GMA News