MANILA – The Malacañang is not discounting the possibility that Metro Manila might shift to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in November.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday the shift is possible since the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Metro Manila were slowly decreasing.
“It is not an impossibility dahil talaga naman po napababa natin [ang COVID-19 cases] pero nasa kababayan pa rin natin ‘yan sa Metro Manila. Alam na po natin ang dapat gawin: mask, hugas, iwas,” Roque said in a virtual press conference from Bataan.
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, chairperson of the Metro Manila Council, has recently said that Metro Manila’s quarantine status might shift to MGCQ next month if the COVID-19 cases will continue to diminish.
MGCQ is the least restrictive in the government’s four-tier quarantine classification system where more businesses will be allowed to operate but public health measures such as wearing of masks and social distancing will remain in effect.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging infectious Diseases has maintained the GCQ status for National Capital Region for the entire October.
The Department of Health listed 2,415 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, the bulk of which were reported in Metro Manila with 930 cases./PN
