ONLY eight areas in Luzon and Visayas remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting on Sunday.
In an online briefing on Saturday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) issued Resolution No. 63 placing Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon in Luzon under GCQ.
In Visayas, the areas placed under GCQ are Iloilo City, Cebu City, Lapu Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, the municipalities of Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu province.
“The rest of the country are placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), with some provinces, highly urbanized cities and independent component cities with strict enforcement of local action,” Roque said.
The said classifications will take effect from August 16 to 31, 2020.
Roque noted that some areas within these GCQ and MGCQ areas may still be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) through localized and granular lockdowns.
“We are now going after areas with clusters [cases of Covid-19]. These will be placed under lockdown,” Roque said.
IATF Resolution No. 63 does not cover the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, which are currently under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) up to August 18, 2020.
Roque said President Duterte is expected to announce on Monday in Davao City the new community classifications in the said areas.
He noted the IATF already has a recommendation to Duterte regarding the new classification for MECQ areas, but he did not disclose it so as not to preempt the decision of the President.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila