By GENALYN KABILING
It’s final.
The general community quarantine status of Metro Manila and six other places will remain for the month of November after no changes were made by the government pandemic task force, Malacañang announced Friday.
The rest of the country will stay under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the most relaxed of the four lockdown levels, next month based on the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF).
“Nasa pinal na rin po ang ating mga quarantine classifications matapos po ang takdang panahon na binigay sa mga lokal na pamahalaan upang mag-apela,” he said during the “Laging Handa” public briefing Friday.
“Nasa ilalim po ngayon sa GCQ ang Metro Manila, ang Batangas, ang Iloilo City, ang Bacolod City, ang Tacloban City, ang Iligan City, at Lanao del Sur. Ang iba’t ibang lugar pa po ng Pilipinas na hindi nabanggit ay mapapasailalim sa MGCQ. Ibig sabihin nito, wala pong nagbago doon sa inanusyo na quarantine guidelines ng ating Presidente,” he said.
In a televised address Tuesday, the President first announced the country’s quarantine status for November but clarified the classification level was subject to the appeal of concerned local government units. The local officials were given until Oct. 28 to file an appeal on their lockdown level before the IATF.
After a strict lockdown in the past few months, the government has gradually eased the movement restrictions to revitalize the country’s economy weakened by the pandemic. More businesses have been allowed while public transportation capacity has been increased to boost economic activity. Travel restrictions have also been relaxed while shorter curfews are now implemented.
As of Oct. 29, the country has recorded 376,935 COVID-19 cases with 329,848 recoveries and 7,147 deaths.
Asked about the possibility of keeping the GCQ level of Metro Manila and other areas until December, Roque said the risk classification of a place will still depend on factors such as two-week growth rate, daily attack rate, and critical care utilization rate.
“Ang decision po ay para sa Nobyembre pa lamang dahil we don’t want to rule out a change in classification for December,” he said. “Antabayanan po natin kung ano ang magiging desisyon para sa Disyembre,” Roque added.
