Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro said Metro Manila cannot afford to stay under the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) for a long period of time, saying there is already a need to re-open “economic activities.”
“Napakarami na ng ating kababayan na nawalan ng trabaho at marami na tayong mga establisimiento na nagsara dahil walang economic activity (There are many Filipinos who have lost their jobs and many establishments have closed down because there is no economic activity),” Teodoro told CNN Philippines when asked if he was in favor of extending the MECQ in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its nearby provinces.
“Marami tayong mga kababayan na nagkakasakit na non-COVID dahil na rin sa hirap ng buhay kaya kailangan ng balanse (Many of our citizens are getting sick, but not with COVID, but because of how hard life has been for them, that’s why we need to balance it),” the mayor added.
Teodoro said cities must move to meet the conditions which will allow NCR to go back to the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) or the new normal.
These conditions include the lowering of hospital utilization rate, improved contact tracing, early detection of cases, maintaining public health standards, putting up additional isolation and treatment facilities, and effective vaccine rollout.