Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro said the Department of Health (DOH) wants local government units (LGUs) to speed up their contact tracing to 24 hours.
Teodoro, in an interview with DZMM, said Metro mayors were told that the 24-hour contact tracing is among the conditions before quarantine restrictions can be eased in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The mayor said the current contact tracing speed of LGUs is at five and a half days.
“Ibig sabihin, sa loob ng limang araw, nakukuha o nakikita natin yung mga close contacts ng isang kaso (This means that within five days, we are able to identify or see the close contacts of one case),” he said.
The 17 mayors of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) met with the DOH on Sunday night to discuss the next quarantine classification for NCR.
Teodoro said that while COVID-19 cases have decreased, the number of patients in hospitals remains at a “critical level.”
He added that the MMC will have another meeting on Monday, April 26, with the government's economic team, regarding the recommendation for NCR’s next quarantine status.