By Argyll Geducos
President Duterte approved the recommendation to keep Metro Manila under the general community quarantine (GCQ) and for Cebu City to revert to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from June 16 to June 30.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on June 15, 2020. (ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)
In his public address aired late Monday, President Duterte, however, said this still can change as he has yet to consult with the business sector about it.
“Yun lang muna ano natin (Let’s stick with this) but later on, as we ramble on, maybe tomorrow (Tuesday) or the day after, after I shall have talked with the businessmen, then we can decide whether or not we can still modify the modified lockdown that we have imposed,” he said.
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) decided to place Cebu City under ECQ anew due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city.
"Due to the increasing number of new cases and widespread community transmission in the majority of barangays in the city, as well as the consistent case doubling time of less than seven days, and the significant increase in critical care utilization against critical care capacity, Cebu City shall be placed under enhanced community quarantine," he said.
Cebu City monitored
A surveillance team will be deployed by the National Task Force (NTF) on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cebu City to closely monitor the sudden increase in the
number of confirmed patients in the area.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Action Plan (NAP) on COVID-19, said he coordinated with Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III for the deployment of a team of health experts in the capital city of Cebu province. The team will be flown via a C295 military transport plane on Wednesday.
During his visit to Cebu Citylast week, Galvez said he observed that the city’s severe cases were increasing.
In fact, he said 11 of the 15 areas in the country with high number of cases are located in Cebu City.
Among them, he noted, are Barangay Mambaling with 680 cases and Barangay Luz with 216 cases.
Duque likewise announced that Talisay City, a component city of Cebu province, shall be placed under the modified ECQ (MECQ) until the end of the month for the same reasons as Cebu City.
Galvez said there were 140 active cases Talisay City.
“‘Yung mga ospital marami pong na-a-admit na na-i-intubate (Many of those who were admitted in hospitals were intubated),” Galvez said during the public address of President Duterte Monday night.
As of Monday, Galvez said there were eight people waiting for intubation in the emergency rooms (ER) of Cebu City’s hospitals.
“That’s why I talked to Secretary Duque to closely observe Cebu City because we are seeing what we call a spike,” he added.
Other GCQ areas
Meanwhile, other areas under GCQ in Luzon are:
- Cagayan
- Isabela
- Nueva Vizcaya
- Quirino
- Santiago City
- Aurora
- Bataan
- Bulacan
- Tarlac
- Olongapo City
- Cavite
- Laguna
- Batangas
- Rizal
- Quezon
- Occidental Mindoro
- Bohol
- Cebu
- Negros Oriental
- Siquijor
- Mandaue City
- Lau-Lapu City
- Davao City
- Zamboanga City
According to Duque, the strict implementation of minimum public health standards shall be strictly observed in high-risk areas such as healthcare settings, wet markets, supermarkets, and government and workplaces, among others.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque had earlier said that President Duterte’s decision will be based on the obligation of the state to protect the public’s health, the need to open the economy, and the ability to provide critical healthcare assistance to those who will get sick with COVID-19. (With a report from Martin A. Sadongdong)