Still premature to shift back to MGCQ – OCTA Research

It may still be premature to ease quarantine restrictions as early as next month as the country’s vaccination program has not yet reached the advised levels, according to the OCTA Research Group.

According to OCTA Research Fellow Guido David, it is still too early to shift back to a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), or the loosest form of restrictions.

“It may be premature right now to move to MGCQ since we haven’t vaccinated a sufficient number yet,” he said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

The NCR Plus bubble — Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Rizal — has remained under a general community quarantine (GCQ) until June 30, albeit "with some restrictions" since June 15, versus "with heightened restrictions" in the previous days.

The Philippines has so far administered some 8.050 million jabs as of June 18, versus the estimated 109 million population as of 2020.

According to David, the National Capital Region (NCR) could reach a population protection level of 50% in November, and 75% by December should the vaccination program cover the area’s 10 million population.

Population protection indicates that there are less than 1 per 100,000, or that NCR would have less than 140 new confirmed cases daily.

The Philippines on Sunday, June 27, reported 6,096 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,397,992. This includes 52,570 active cases; 1,321,050 recoveries; and 24,372 deaths. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News