President Rodrigo Duterte will not hesitate to reimpose the strictest quarantine measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its neighboring provinces when necessary amid the Delta variant threat, his spokesperson said Monday (July 19).
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in his briefing that they are closely monitoring the situation. The NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna are currently under general community quarantine until July 31.
“We are aiming to promote total health. Alam po natin na there is a necessity na limitahan ang pagkalat ng COVID-19. Pero at the same time, ayaw rin nating tumaas ang hanay ng nagugutom dahil sa lockdown,” he said.
“Mas matagal ‘yung naging ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] at [modified] ECQ dito sa NCR Plus 8 noon. But, when we have to resort to it under the goal of promoting total health, hindi po mag-a-atubili ang ating Presidente,” he added.
Among the areas that have been placed under ECQ until the end of the month are Iloilo Province, Iloilo City, Cagayan De Oro, and Gingoog City.
Roque also denied claims that several authorities are being complacent despite the prevailing variant threat. Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said they are still expanding hospital capacity, especially the intensive care units (ICU) of level 3 hospitals.
Several members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is set for its regular Monday meeting, to be followed by Duterte’s public address at 10:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the government said 15,096,261 vaccine doses have been administered in the country as of July 18, 2021. Pasig and Las Piῆas local governments have already given at least one dose to all its eligible senior citizens.
The country is also expecting the delivery of procured 562,770 Pfizer doses on July 21. – Report from Mela Lesmoras/AG-rir
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