The Metro Manila Council (MMC) is set to announce today, July 14, its recommended quarantine status for the National Capital Region (NCR) from July 16 onwards to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, also the chairman of MMC, said Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos will announce the decision of the Metro Manila mayors on the next quarantine status for the NCR.
He said Metro Manila is currently under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with certain restriction until July 15.
Oluvarez said that even if the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the metropolis are decreasing, Metro mayors still "cannot afford to let their guards down."
"Patuloy na bumababa ang bilang pero hindi pa rin tayo puwedeng mag-relax. Kailangan meron pa ring strict compliance sa health protocols," (There's been a decrease in the numbers but that doesn't mean we should relax. Strict compliance with the health protocols is still needed.) Olivarez said in a GMA News Online interview.
The OCTA research group revealed that the average number of new COVID-19 cases in NCR from July 6 to July 12 was 2 percent lower than the previous week.
The group also reported that the reproduction number in NCR was recorded at 0.93 over the same period. A reproduction number of one or higher is an indication of the continuous transmission of the virus.