The Philippines has been battling
the COVID-19 pandemic for about a year and a half now, and even with health and
safety protocols, incoming vaccines and quarantines or lockdowns of
significantly affected communities, the number of new positive cases – and
worse, deaths – have been worryingly high. Not helping are the appearance of
the mutated strains from overseas like the Delta variant, and even the rise of
local mutations like the Theta variant. In response to this, Metro Manila was
put back under enhanced community quarantine two weeks ago. This past Thursday
their next quarantine level and that of nearby Laguna has been announced:
modified ECQ.
CNN Philippines reports that the National Capital Region and Laguna
will transition to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) effective this
coming Saturday, August 21. This was announced August 19 by President Rodrigo
Duterte upon his approval of the motion from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF),
and barring any resurgent spikes of COVID infections, it will remain so until
the end of the month. In addition, the province of Bataan which has been under
similar ECQ status will downgrade to MECQ starting next Monday, August 23 until
August 31 also, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
This easing-down of quarantine levels
in the nation’s capital and neighboring provinces comes following some of the
highest single-day new COVID case counts since the pandemic began, while the
Delta variant infection figures now stand at more than 800 of the total
1,791,003 cases thus far. Then again, even with the impending return to MECQ
(last declared for Metro Manila last April), the original regulations from
months ago that gave allowances to outdoor dining-in (50% capacity with diagonal
seating and acrylic dividers) and religious gatherings (10% capacity with
LGU-approvable 30% max) remain scrubbed in favor of complete prohibition, with
religious gatherings being strictly virtual only.
But there is some loosening of
restrictions all the same. Metro Manila Council Chairman Mayor Edwin Olivarez
of Parañaque
announced that as soon as MECQ arrives in NCR this weekend, there will no longer
be implementation of quarantine passes for local residents. Next, each Metro
Manila LGU now has its own discretion on whether to maintain or lift the Liquor
Ban, and enforce granular lockdowns on any neighborhoods with high COVID cases.
Lastly, any ECQ financial assistance or “ayuda” that has not been distributed to
Metro Manila recipients are still mandated to be given out even when MECQ sets
in.
The OCTA Research Group advises
caution on the ECQ-MECQ shift in the NCR, adding that to capitalize on earlier
quarantine effects, COVID infections in neighboring provinces must be curbed
quickly. These LGUs have been tasked to intensify vaccination drives and
enforcing health and safety protocols.
Image from Business World Online
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