President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday night the quarantine classification for the month of January, including the retention of general community quarantines (GCQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Aside from Mega Manila, the areas placed under a month-long GCQ are Isabela, Santiago City, Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Lanao del Sur, Iligan City, and Davao del Norte.
The rest of the country will remain under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
The decision came after the meeting of President Duterte with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Monday, December 28.
Earlier on December 26, President Duterte floated the idea of having another tightened lockdown amid the threat of the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 “if the severity in numbers would demand that we take corrective measures.” Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said that a lockdown is not necessary but stricter measures should be in place in international borders.
Health experts and the government, including President Duterte, also reiterated the directive for the public to strictly follow the minimum health standards to prevent the transmission of the virus.
As of December 28, Monday afternoon, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported 766 confirmed new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 470,650. A total of 104 new recoveries and 15 deaths were added, bringing the active case toll at 22,746. – PTV News Online
