Duterte places NCR Plus under GCQ with restrictions until June 15, 2021

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the National Capital Region and its nearby provinces under general community quarantine with restrictions from June 1 to 15, 2021.

It was initially announced that the GCQ with restrictions for NCR Plus will last until June 30 but a clarification was issued to say that it would be until June 15.

In a briefing with Duterte and Cabinet officials, Duterte said the following areas will also be under GCQ during from June 1 to June 30:

• Baguio City
• Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Abra
• Isabela
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Batangas
• Quezon
• Iligan City
• Davao City
• Lanao del Sur
• Cotabato City

The following areas will be under a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine from June 1 to 15, 2021:

• City of Santiago, Cagayan
• Apayao
• Benguet
• Ifugao
• Puerto Princesa City
• Iloilo City
• Zamboanga City
• Zamboanga Sibugay
• Zamboanga del Sur
• Zamboanga del Norte
• Cagayan de Oro City
• Butuan City
• Agusan del Sur

The rest of the country will be under modified GCQ. 

The quarantine announcement came after all 17 mayors in the National Capital Region agreed to maintain GCQ status in Metro Manila in June.

The mayors said they also recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF)  to allow more businesses as well as meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions or “MICE” activities in the incoming month.

Earlier in the day, the OCTA Research group said the downward trend in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and neighboring areas has slowed down.

In their latest report, the independent team of experts said Metro Manila only logged a one-week case growth rate of -1% for May 24 to 30, compared to -23%, -27%, and -36% in the weeks prior.

The average number of new cases nationwide also grew by 22% to 6,259. The country’s reproduction number was pegged at 1.02.

The country has so far recorded 1,230,301 cases of COVID-19 including 1,155,045 recoveries and 20,966 fatalities. —NB, GMA News