By JHON CASINAS
The National Capital Region (NCR) is still the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the OCTA Research Group said yesterday.
“We still consider NCR as the epicenter of the pandemic here in the country,” Dr. Butch Ong said during the “Laging Handa” press briefing.
“So kailangan natin na when we make policies, ang aming mungkahi, we must base it on evidence on our previous experience with COVID last year,” he said.
Asked if the country may shift to the less strict modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Ong said that they are still studying the effects of the new COVID-19 variant, the B.1.1.7, which has been detected in 44 people in the country.
Last Feb. 12, the Department of Health reported 19 new cases of the new and more transmittable variant of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the United Kingdom.
But Ong noted that more industries may be allowed to resume operations as long as minimum health standards will be strictly observed to prevent further infections.
He also said that country has now improved its hospital capacity unlike last year where health workers sought for a timeout due to increasing number of COVID-19 cases that prompted the country to shift back to more strict MECQ for two weeks.
“Maari talaga tayo mag-open ng mga industries but very carefully and very cautiously, unlike last year. Mas maganda na ang ating hospital capacity,” he said.
President Duterte retained the GCQ status of Metro Manila and Davao City until the end of February. Other areas placed in GCQ are Batangas and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), which includes Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Baguio City, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province for Luzon; Tacloban City for the Visayas; and Davao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Iligan City for Mindanao.
The rest of the country, including Santiago City, Ormoc City, is currently under MGCQ.
