BY ARGYLL GEDUCOS
Malacañang said stricter COVID-19 measures, including a unified curfew, will be imposed on the National Capital Region (NCR) even though it has already reverted to the general community quarantine after a two-week stricter lockdown.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces return to GCQ on Wednesday until the end of the month.
In an interview with CNN Philippines on the first day of Metro Manila’s return to GCQ, Roque said that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved on Tuesday night the request of NCR mayors for a stricter GCQ.
“We considered the recommendations of the mayor to actually impose a stricter GCQ. Because when we consulted the mayors, they were in agreement that it should be GCQ but it should also be a strict type,” he said.
According to Roque, there will now be a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the entire NCR and that local government units can issue quarantine passes even in GCQ.
Roque said the government will start the aggressive implementation of localized and granular lockdowns. Quarantine passes will be a requirement in these areas.
Mass gatherings are back to a maximum of 10 persons and not 10 percent of the capacity of the venue. Religious services are bound to follow this rule.
The supposed reopening of gyms, internet cafes, and review and tutorial centers are likewise suspended.
“They will remain closed,” Roque said.
Restaurants and salons can open but the LGUs are now the ones who have to determine the capacity in these establishments. The IATF had previously approved dine-in services and salon services at 30 percent capacity.
President Duterte on Monday reverted Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal to GCQ after a two-week shift to modified enhanced community quarantine as requested by the medical community. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
