DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday night announced that the Metron Manila, Davao City and five other areas in the country will be placed under General Community Quarantine starting June 1.
Metro Manila was earlier under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) which will be downgraded to GCQ.
Davao City which is presently under GCQ, will be the only city in Mindanao under the same status come June 1.
Duterte identified places under GCQ include:
- Cagayan Valley
- Central Luzon
- Calabarzon
- Pangasinan
- Albay
While the rest of the country will be under modified community quarantine (MGCQ).
Duterte in a televised meeting with the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (AITF-EID) on Thursday night stressed, “The NCR will now be placed under the general community quarantine or the GCQ starting June 1. Davao City will remain GCQ. And the other areas under GCQ . . . The regions that would remain under GCQ will be Regions II, III, IV-A and Pangasinan, Albay, ‘yan sila until — until we have reviewed the general situation”.
The President said “We are not happy to put you in this place but after review maybe we can . . . But just let me tell you today that of those who are of late infection or those arriving in the country, we have a spike of about 5,000.”
Aside from those identified as under GCQ, Duterte stressed “The rest of the country will be placed under modified general community quarantine. Again, the rest of the country will be placed under modified general community quarantine. That is very clear now”.
In other areas, he said it will be again on a piecemeal basis “depending on the viability of the place to meet the challenges of COVID. From time to time, Secretary Roque would give us the places where there will be changes”.
As of May 28, the DOH Davao Region recorded 277 confirmed cases of Covid-19; 28 deaths and 135 recoveries.
Out of 277 cases, 253 cases are from Davao City.
Health authorities in Davao region cannot categorically answer if Davao City has reached the peak nor has flattened the curve of coronavirus-19 (Covid-19) infection.-Newsline
