NCR to be placed under ECQ starting August 6 to 20
By Ella Dionisio
Due to the threat of COVID-19 Delta variant, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under enhanced community lockdown from August 6 to 20.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the announcement on Friday.
“We know that ECQ is hard but we need to do this to prevent the lack of ICU beds and other hospital requirements in case of a surge due to the Delta variant,” Roque said.
Roque said prior to total lockdown, Metro Manila will still be under general community quarantine (GCQ) subject to heightened restrictions from July 30 to August 5.
“We need to make this decision in order to save more lives,” he said.
Last Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) said the number of Delta variant cases in the country is now 216 after 97 cases were announced.
It added that last Thursday, the DOH reported that the NCR is one of the six regions in the country where COVID-19 cases have been growing over the past two weeks.
"Increase is noted in the recent week with an additional 231 cases versus the previous week," said Vergeire.
From only 782 average daily cases for the period of July 15 to 21, the number rose to 1,013 during July 22 to 28.
Roque said the heightened restrictions for NCR are more stringent compared to the GCQ with heightened restrictions of other areas.
“In NCR, indoor dine-in services and al fresco dining are prohibited. Only take-out and delivery are allowed,” he said.
For people working in these establishments, operations are allowed to continue and finish within the day.
“On the other hand, personal care services, such as beauty salons, beauty parlors, barber shops and nail spas may operate up to 30 percent of venue or seating capacity,” he said.
Indoor sports courts and venues and indoor tourist attractions and specialized markets of the Department of Tourism (DOT) are also not allowed to operate.
Outdoor tourist attractions, as may be defined by the DOT, shall remain to be allowed at 30 percent venue capacity.
‘Only Authorized Persons Outside their Residences shall be allowed to travel into and out of the NCR Plus Area, which includes Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna, and Rizal,” Roque said.
Only virtual religious gatherings shall be allowed.
Gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment and funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19 shall be allowed, provided they are limited to immediate family members.
He said other provisions of the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of the Community Quarantine in the Philippines, as amended, not affected by the above restrictions shall continue to take effect, including those on the operation of public transportation.
“The use of active transportation shall likewise be promoted,” Roque said.
Gingoog City, Iloilo City, Iloilo Province, and Cagayan de Oro City shall remain under ECQ starting August 1 until August 7.
Cebu City and Cebu Province have been added to areas under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) starting August 1 until August 15, subject to further appeals by their local government units.
For Luzon, Ilocos Norte and Bataan; and for the Visayas, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City are under MECQ from August 1 until August 15.
Placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions from August 1 to August 15, are Ilocos Sur; Cagayan; Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna and Lucena City in Region 4-A and Naga City for Luzon; Antique, Aklan, Bacolod City and Capiz in Region 6 and Negros Oriental for the Visayas; Zamboanga del Sur; Misamis Oriental; Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental and Davao de Oro in Region 11 and Butuan City for Mindanao.
On the other hand, Baguio City and Apayao in the Cordillera Administrative Region; Santiago City, Quirino, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya in Region 2; Batangas and Quezon in Region 4-A and Puerto Princesa for Luzon; Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Region 6; Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Norte in Region 9; Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur in Region 11; General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and South Cotabato in Region 12; Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands in CARAGA and Cotabato City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are placed under GCQ from August 1 to August 31, 2021.
All other areas are placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) classification from August 1 to August 31. DMS
