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Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday clarified news reports that the Central Visayas region is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

In a radio interview, Año said only Cebu City is under ECQ while Talisay City is under modified ECQ.

“That’s not true. Only Cebu City is under ECQ while Talisay City of Cebu province is under MECQ… other provinces in Visayas are under GCQ,” he said.

Central Visayas is composed of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

He said other local government units in Central Visayas handled the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis well.

“We can even shift some areas under MGCQ like Bohol but they still want to remain under GCQ because they want to manage movement of people,” Año said.

He said the IATF will soon assess the situation in Cebu City and Talisay City to determine what will be their next classification.

“We hope Cebu City will soon shift (to GCQ) and their (COVID-19) active cases will decrease,” he added.

The Department of Health also clarified that they cannot give such announcements after a news report quoted Heath Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire saying the entire region is now under ECQ.

“Region 7 is still under GCQ, except for Cebu City, which is under ECQ and Talisay City, which is under modified ECQ… There is a news report circulating that I said Region 7 is now under ECQ. That is not true,” Vergeire said.

“We do not have any authority to give this kind of information. It is only the InterAgency Task Force and (Presidential) Spokesperson Harry Roque who can provide the general public with this kind of information,” she added.

Based on DOH’s latest data, there are 4,533 COVID-19 cases in Central Visayas, including 72 deaths and 236 recoveries.

Majority of the cases in the region is from Cebu City with 2,988, including 35 deaths and 172 recoveries. Ella Dionisio/DMS