MANILA – The weeklong enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) plus – which started midnight of Monday – could be extended if there is no improvement in the spike of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) cases.
The length of ECQ in Metro Manila and provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal according to National Task Force Against COVID-19 spokesperson Restituto Padilla, will depend on the daily cases of COVID.
“We are closely monitoring the situation. That is why we need the cooperation of everybody to help our frontliners and see a decline in the COVID cases so the ECQ will be temporary,” Padilla said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo on Sunday.
“If the alarming COVID cases continue, we may extend this (ECQ) as what is important is to prevent our health system to be overwhelmed by the patients being tested with the virus,” he added.
Based on the data from the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday afternoon, 9,475 new cases were recorded. The country now has 721,892 total cases, and 105,568 are active cases.
DOH also logged 22,000 new recoveries, the highest number of recovered patients in a day since Sept. 6, 2020. The total number of recoveries rose to 603,154.
There were also 11 casualties recorded for a total of 13,170 deaths.
On Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to place the “NCR plus” under ECQ from March 29 to April 4, 2021.
Under ECQ status, all households should observe strict home quarantine. Movements will be limited to Authorized Persons Outside Residence, those accessing essential goods and services, and workers in establishments allowed to operate.
Mass gatherings are prohibited. Malls will be closed except for restaurants, pharmacies, and essential stores.
Mass transportation is allowed but at limited capacity and an intensified curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. will also be implemented./PN
