Health protocols should strictly be enforced if entire country placed under MGCQ.

With the proposal to place the entire country under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), health experts urged the local government units (LGUs) to strictly implement quarantine protocols as the shift will allow more people outside their residence.

Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, in an interview over ABS-CBN, said that minimum health standards should be strictly imposed at the community level to lower the risk of having a spike of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

She added that the public should be given the opportunity to ride decent public transport and ensure the places they would go have good ventilation.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has constantly reminded the LGUs to carry on with the national government’s minimum health standard regulations as COVID-19 remains a big threat.

Should there be an increase in COVID-19 transmission in a locality, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the agency is more than ready to provide the necessary assistance to the distressed LGU.

Aside from having supervisory powers, Malaya explained that the DILG is mandated by the law to provide technical assistance to the LGUs as the need arises.

“So, kaagad po, 'pag may pagtaas ng kaso sa isang lugar ay kinakausap agad ang mayor na ipatawag at mag-meeting na ang task force, na kailangan operational (If there is a spike (of COVID-19) in a certain area we immediately confer with the mayor for them meet the task force since the process should be operational in nature),’’ Malaya said.

Malaya also noted that the local government operations officers (LGOO) are monitoring whether the isolation facilities are fully functional where the contact tracing teams begin their duties.

On February 19, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire called on the LGUs to step up their COVID-19 response should the national government place the Philippines under MGCQ.