MANILA – The Metro Manila Council (MMC) announced on Wednesday that it will leave the decision to extend or lower the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) being imposed in the region to the national government.
In a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and concurrent MMC chairperson Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. said the council, which is made up of the 17 NCR mayors and other national government officials, said the new or extended quarantine status will take effect on August 21.
“The LGUs (local government units) are at the forefront and they know what is really happening on the ground but we have to weigh both economic and health factors in our decision. We deem it best to leave the decision to the wisdom and judgment of the IATF-EID (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases),” Abalos said.
He stated that the local government units (LGU) in the NCR will continue to firmly follow the “Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR)” measures to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and the numerous variants of its virus.
“Whatever the decision of the IATF-EID, the mayors committed to doubling up their vaccination efforts. Stricter implementation of health protocols and comprehensive testing and contact tracing will also be continuously imposed,” Abalos said.
He explained that the current ECQ in the NCR and other parts of the country is “different from previous ECQs” because the government has already started its vaccination program.
He said that as of Monday, the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered in the NCR has reached 10,716,042, with senior citizens receiving 90 percent of the total and the rest receiving 774,066 complete doses.
“Critical Covid-19 cases are lesser despite the rise in the number of active cases as majority of Metro Manila residents already received their jabs,” Abalos said.
Abalos had previously visited numerous vaccination centers in Metro Manila and lauded the local governments for their “orderly and systematic” immunization process.
Due to the ongoing rise of Covid-19 infections, primarily due to the highly contagious Delta variant, a two-week ECQ was enforced in Metro Manila from Aug. 6 to 20.
