Metro Manila residents will no longer be permitted to exercise outdoors as per a new resolution from the Metro Manila Council (MMC).

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos made this revelation on late Monday night, Aug. 9, in his presentation during President Duterte's pre-recorded public address.

Abalos, who works closely with the 17 mayors of the National Capital Region (NCR) in his capacity as MMDA chief gave little details about the directive, which was presumably made in connection with the spiking of new daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the metropolis.

"Bilang panghuli Mr. President, ay nagpasa rin kami ng resolusyon ngayon lang hapon na ultimo paglabas ng bahay, maski mag-exercise ay bawal na po sapagkat importante for the next two weeks ay talagang mapangalagaan ang ating mga taga-Metro Manila (Finally Mr. President, we also passed a resolution just this afternoon that says even going outside the house, even for exercise, would be prohibited because its important that we protect our residents in Metro Manila)," he told Duterte via Zoom in the tailend of his presentation.

The whole of NCR is currently under a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)--the strictest quarantine level possible. The ECQ, which began on Aug. 6, was imposed as a way to control the spread of the dreaded Delta variant of COVID-19.

The MMDA later sent a copy of MMC MMDA Resolution No. 21-17 Series of 2021 to reporters on Tuesday noon, Aug. 10. It is titled, "Prohibiting outdoor exercise in the National Capital Region during the enhanced community quarantine until 20 August 2021 through the local government units of Metro Manila."

"In the past week, the NCR has experienced a steady rise in the numbercof COVID-19 cases including confirmed cases of the highly-transmissible and lethal Delta variant.

"While the recognizes the need to engage in various forms of outdoor exercise in order promote and maintain physical, mental, and emotional health, the Council is also mindful of the fact that staying at home or remaining indoors is one of the best protection against the pandemic during the ECQ," the two-page document read. The directive is effective immediately upon publication.

The 17 NCR mayors comprise the MMC, which serves as the policy-making body of the MMDA.

Abalos has underscored in past weeks how pro-active the local executives have been in responding to the public health crisis. It was actually the mayors who pushed for the implementation of an ECQ as a preemptive measure against the Delta variant.