Three prerequisites should be met before the National Capital Region- Plus (NCR-Plus) can shift to a less restrictive quarantine status, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro said on Friday (June 11).
On June 15, the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) imposed on NCR-Plus or Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan will expire.
The first prerequisite, according to Teodoro, is for the government to continuously roll out COVID-19 vaccines and maintain its steady supply in the country.
The second prerequisite is to improve the bed capacity of hospitals in the country.
Third, the mayor said the government should maintain the strict implementation of heath and safety standards.
“Tingin ko, if patuloy-tuloy ang rollout ng bakuna and steady ang supply, second, ma-improve ang hospital bed capacity...third, kung ang minimum health standard ay dapat mapanatili, tingin ko maari naman (For me, if the vaccine roll out and its supply are steady, and the hospital bed capacity is improved, and the minimum health standards are maintained, it is possibe to shift to a less restrictive quarantine status),” Teodoro said in a radio interview.
Should all the three prerequisites are met, Teodoro said that it is then possible for NCR-Plus to shift to the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).
For Teodoro, the current situation of NCR-Plus is still a work in progress.
“We are still a work in progress when its comes to the three prerequisites. The additional vaccines just arrived. We’ll see this week,” he said.
“It should be equity distribution for the vaccines (especially) in areas where there are high cases of COVID-19,” he said.
The mayor said he understands the situation of the national government since the available vaccines in the country are not enough.