Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Thursday the city still has a "few" COVID-19 related deaths despite the surge in new virus infections in Metro Manila because the government's vaccination program "is working."
Belmonte added that the rise in the city's new COVID-19 cases "is not as steep" as the one it experienced in March, 2020 or during the previous reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the region.
"Actually, very manageable pa po sa Lungsod Quezon ang pagtaas ng mga bilang namin (Actually, the rise in new COVID-19 cases is still manageable here in Quezon City)," Belmonte said in a public briefing. As of August 11, the city has 5,358 active COVID-19 cases, with 1,252 deaths, and 106,241 recoveries.
Although the city can still handle the outbreak, Belmonte said, she would "prefer to wait for another week" before she could make a recommendation whether to extend the two-week ECQ in Metro Manila or downgrade it.
Belmonte said it is still "too early" to decide because the ECQ reimpostion had just started and it is but "natural" to see an increase in the city's and in the region's COVID-19 cases.
"Pero ang gusto nating makita ay yung trend. Sana ay mabago na by next week (What we want to see next week is for our COVID-19 trend to change)," she added.