President Duterte is set to announce the new quarantine classifications for January Monday.
In a radio interview, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will meet Monday morning so they can make the recommendation to the President in the evening.
“Well, sigurado po ‘yan na i-a-anunsiyo kung ano iyong bagong quarantine classification pagdating ng Enero at iyan po ay pag-uusapan bukas ng umaga (Well, it’s certain that the new quarantine classification for January will be discussed tomorrow morning),” he told Super Radyo DZBB.
The government has warned the public of a possible surge of COVID-19 cases over the holidays which may cause some parts of the country to revert to a stricter quarantine classification.
According to Roque, it would take at least two weeks after the New Year celebration to see if the number of COVID-19 cases indeed increased during the Christmas season.
“Ganiyan nga po iyong incubation period ng sakit. Pero sana po hindi naman,” he said.
“Naniniwala naman po ako, disiplinado ang mga Pilipino at ninanais talaga nilang pangalagaan ang kanilang kalusugan, para sila po ay makapaghanapbuhay na,” he added.
The Palace official, however, reminded the public to continue following health protocols like the wearing of face masks and shields, proper handwashing, and physical distancing.
“Kapag hindi po sila sumunod doon, eh sigurado pong mas marami ang magkakasakit,” Roque said.
Duterte will meet members of the IATF and other health experts again Monday to talk about possible additional protocols to protect the people from the new COVID-19 strain identified as B.1.1.7 that originated from the United Kingdom.
During his meeting with them Saturday, the President raised the possibility of bringing back the lockdowns if the new COVID-19 variant would spread in the country.
