Zambo del Sur not ready for GCQ, governor says

The local government of Zamboanga del Sur is asking the national government to extend the enhanced community quarantine in the province to May 15, saying it is not yet ready to loosen the current restrictions amid the COVID-19 crisis.

A report on 24 Oras News Alert on Tuesday quoted Governor Victor Yu as saying that the province is not yet ready to transition from ECQ to general community quarantine due to the high number of suspected COVID-19 cases there.

Zamboanga del Sur has four confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three of them have recovered.

The province is under the evaluation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on whether it will extend the implementation of ECQ or replace it with GCQ.

President Rodrigo Duterte extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and other parts of the country by two weeks until May 15 to curb the spread of the COVID-19.

Areas considered by the government to have moderate to low risk for COVID-19 spread like Zamboanga del Sur will be placed under GCQ starting on May 1. --Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News