PRESIDENT Duterte on Thursday night placed Metro Manila under a general community quarantine (GCQ) effective June 1, easing restrictions in a region that accounts for a hefty share of the national income, now slashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Appearing at a late-night briefing after meeting the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), Duterte said other areas now under GCQ, from the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), are: Davao City, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Pangasinan province and Albay.
The rest of the country will be under a modified GCQ, the most relaxed quarantine status.
Duterte had placed Luzon island under ECQ since March 17, heeding advice of health experts on the need to avert community transmission, which could bloat the number of infections beyond the capacity of the health system. One modeling presented to him by experts showed uncontrolled community transmission could quickly cause cases to spike to 70,000 in a few weeks.
As of Thursday (May 28), the Department of Health reported nationwide total cases at 15,588. As of 4 p. m. of May 28, the DOH also announced that 92 new recoveries and 17 new deaths have been reported. This brings the total number of recoveries to 3,598, and deaths to 921.
The IATF earlier recommended the transition of Metro Manila from modified ECQ to GCQ, mirroring a recommendation by all Metro Manila mayors.
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