Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday (Aug. 12) said that he is in favor of the appeal made by several groups to de-escalate the current quarantine classification of the National Capital Region (NCR).
However, he added that the government has parameters in deciding a quarantine classification. This includes that of NCR where the ECQ is set to expire on Aug. 20.
“Gaya ng dati, sinusundan po natin iyong formula na daily attack rate, two-week [growth] rate at hospital care utilization rate… We all want a lesser quarantine classification nang mas marami pong makapagtrabaho. Pero ang desisyon nga po natin ay total health,” he said in his briefing.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, who was also present in the virtual briefing, however said that it is still too early to decide on quarantine classifications.
“Pero ang gusto nating makita ay ‘yung trend sana ay [mag]babago na by next week… I would prefer to wait another week before I make a recommendation to the Metro Manila Council sa aming weekly meetings,” she said.
Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan said cases are slightly increasing but added that they would still wait for a few days before issuing a recommendation.
Meanwhile, Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) already has a recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the ECQ of areas that are set to end on Aug. 15.
The government also placed Tuguegarao City under 10-day ECQ and 11 areas of Cebu under modified MECQ.
In line with the government’s measures to respond to the pandemic, Malacañang reminded the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to pay its dues to private hospitals. – Report from Mela Lesmoras/AG-bny
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