DAVAO CITY —President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency task Force for emerging Infectious Diseases to extend Enhanced Community Quarantine in some areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao until May 15, 2020.
Duterte approved the recommendation of the IATF-IED as coronavirus cases in those areas continue to rise.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in a radio interview aired over DCDR on Friday afternoon said “We cannot go on MCQ on Monday. We cannot go against the classification of the national government.”
Duterte-Carpio has earlier announced that Davao City will be under Modified Community Quarantine (MCQ) on Monday April 27 but the national government on Friday morning classifed Davao City as among the high risk areas which will be under the ECQ until May 15.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious to extend the ECQ in some areas until May 15.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday, April 23, recommended to maintain the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region, Region III, Region IV-A and all other high-risk areas up to May 15.Provinces considered high-risk in Region III include Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga.
High-risk provinces in Region IV-A are Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon. Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro comprise high-risk provinces in Region IV-B while Albay and Catanduanes are the high-risk provinces in Region V. Benguet in CAR, Pangasinan in Region I, Tarlac and Zambales in Region III may change by April 30.
In the Visayas, the IATF considered Antique, Iloilo, Cebu and Cebu City high-risk, all subject to recheck, Aklan and Capiz, which are both subject to ECQ.
In Mindanao, Davao del Norte and Davao City are considered high-risk, while Davao de Oro is subject to ECQ and subject to recheck. High-risk areas will be under ECQ until May 15, subject for further evaluation.
Moderate-risk areas meanwhile will be under general community quarantine until May 15, also subject for further evaluation. Low-risk areas will fall under general community quarantine until May 15, and if there is no deterioration, GCQ will be relaxed leading to normalization.
The IATF likewise recommended a minimum health standard to be implemented starting April 27.
The Department of Health, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will prepare the guidelines by April 25.
Areas previously under ECQ but remain under GCQ will allow workers to go out and work in phases. Young people, senior citizens and high health risk would stay at home. For GCQ areas, restricted mall opening covering non-leisure shops would be allowed.
There will be mandatory temperature check, mandatory wearing of masks, mandatory alcohol use. Limited number of people, particularly those with age 21 to 59, with ID and not looking sickly, would be allowed to go inside. Priority and essential construction projects would likewise be allowed to resume, subject to minimum health standards, physical distancing, and barracks for workers.
Public transport modes would likewise be allowed to operate at reduced capacity. Local government units (LGUs) would enforce curfew at night for non-workers.The decision on ECQ and GCQ were based on the risk of outbreak. Areas under ECQ would again undergo evaluation if the decision can be relaxed starting May 16, 2020.
