MANILA (UCAN): “It looks like Metro Manila will graduate from ECQ (extended community quarantine) by May 15. Of course … that’s two weeks from now. But by all indications … we will shift to general community quarantine”, undersecretary of the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government, Jonathan Malaya said in a radio interview on May 4.
However, he said that the extended quarantine, meant to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), would still be in force in some areas, including portions of Quezon City and Manila, where certain areas have been placed under “hard lockdown.”
The extended community quarantines are scheduled to be lifted on May 15 in the capital, Manila, and should have been lifted on April 30 in other areas of Luzon.
On April 28, Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, intimated that lockdown rules might be eased for some non-essential services once extended strict social distancing measures expire on Luzon.
Duterte said workers from some selected services, such as electronics, manufacturing, delivery and maintenance, would be allowed to go back to work. However, schools, entertainment centres, leisure facilities and malls will remain closed.
However, he advised, “In the transportation sector that involves the mass transit of people … please wait as we are finalising the rules. But rest assured, you will still observe strict social distancing.”
The Budget Department sanctioned a 2.7 billion peso ($414 million) fund for Duterte to hire more than 15,700 health professionals in the private sector and from overseas to work in public hospitals and government facilities.
As of May 6, the Philippines had recorded 9,684 Covid-19 cases with 637 deaths, however 1,408 have recovered.
