Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 28) — The decision whether or not Metro Manila will be placed under the stricter modified enhanced community (MECQ) is set to be made this week, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a press briefing on Tuesday.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will meet today regarding the quarantine classifications for August 15 to 30, according to Roque, who is also the IATF spokesman. The task force will also consult with local governments and Metro Manila mayors before submitting their recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte, he added.
Is Metro Manila going back to MECQ?
Roque said that despite the recent spike in infections, Metro Manila’s shift from general community quarantine to MECQ next month is a “foregone conclusion.”
He noted that time it takes 8.9 days for Metro Manila’s COVID-19 cases to double, which is an indication that the situation in the region has ‘improved.’
“Magandang balita po ito,” he said.
[Translation: This is good news.]
He added that under the IATF guidelines, areas with a case doubling rate of at least eight days should be placed under GCQ.
However, Roque said this is still subject to evaluation as more than half of the beds in both the hospitals and temporary treatment and isolation centers for COVID-19 patients are already taken as infections continue to rise, mainly due to increased testing.
“Titingnan pa natin ang critical care capacity,” he said.
[Translation: We will still look into our critical care capacity.]
Roque pointed out that the ICU bed capacity of the country is in the ‘danger’ zone.
The task force determines quarantine rules for an area based on how fast the number of infections there double and how full critical care facilities are.
Metro Manila has been under GCQ since June 1 to allow more non-essential activities and businesses as part of the government’s efforts to revive the coronavirus-torn economy.
