San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said he is in favor of extending the Enhanced Community Quarantine in the National Capital Region Plus (NCR-plus).
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Zamora said he personally thinks that the one-week ECQ is “too short.”
“Prior experience such as the ECQ last year would tell us that the numbers will not go down that fast,” the mayor said.
Zamora said the effect of the ECQ will be maximized if it is extended even “just a little bit.”
“I believe another week of ECQ would help us because even if the numbers drop now and by April 5 we re-open again the economy, then you just waste whatever we achieved last week,” he said.
“It’s just going to be a vicious cycle, ECQ then re-open, ECQ then re-open, it will never end,” he added.
The mayor, meanwhile, said the Metro Manila mayors will assess the impact of ECQ on their respective cities by Saturday.
Zamora said the mayors will “compare the numbers from day one of ECQ for this year” to see if the “numbers are dropping and interventions are working.”