MANILA – The Metro Manila Council (MMC) will gather further information before deciding on whether to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or lower the classification in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The mayors of the NCR’s 16 cities and lone municipality will meet with the Department of Health (DOH) and other experts roughly four days before Aug. 20, the ECQ’s purported last day, according to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, the MMC chair.
“Titingnan po namin ‘yung data kasi lahat po kami sa Metro Manila Council, ‘yung mga mayors po natin, nagbe-base po tayo doon sa ating health data (We will look at data because all Metro Manila mayors are deciding based on the health data presented),” Olivarez said in an interview during the launch of the Nayong Pilipino drive-thru vaccination center in Parañaque City on Thursday.
“Kung makikita natin na bababa po ‘yan pero gradually, bababa ‘yung ating quarantine immediately pero hindi po magiging GCQ (general community quarantine) siya definitely. Kaya po ‘yung data po natin titingnan po natin (If we will see a reduction on cases, gradually our quarantine will be lowered but definitely it will not be a GCQ that’s why we will look at the data),” he said.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the extension of ECQ in Metro Manila it is still premature to discuss “given the absence of data at this point”.
Duque said in an interview on Wednesday that health authorities must collect enough data throughout the ECQ period.
“Basta ang ating batayan consistently ay ‘yung fresh data at ‘yung recommendation ng analytics. Tinitingan ‘yung data araw-araw kung gaano katulin ang pagkalat ng Covid virus (Our basis is consistently the fresh data and the recommendation of analytics. We look at the data everyday to see how fast the Covid virus is spreading),” he said.
The two-week growth indicator and average daily attack rate, according to Duque, must be used to assess transmission.
He also mentioned that the threat to the population that is susceptible to Covid-19 will be taken into account.
“In the absence of these data, we cannot, at this point, say there’s a possibility for ECQ to be extended,” Duque said.
