Metro Manila, nearby provinces remain under GCQ with heightened restrictions

MANILA—Metro Manila will be under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions from August 1 to 15, amid the threat of the Delta COVID-19 variant, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said late Wednesday.

President Rodrigo Duterte also approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force to retain the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) status of Iloilo City and Iloilo province, Cagayan de Oro City and Gingoog City from August 1 to 7.

The following areas will be under GCQ with heightened restrictions from August 1 to 15:

• Metro Manila
• Ilocos Sur
• Cagayan
• Bulacan
• Laguna
• Lucena City
• Cavite
• Rizal
• Naga City
• Antique
• Aklan
• Bacolod City
• Capiz
• Negros Oriental
• Zamboanga del Sur
• Misamis Oriental
• Davao City
• Davao del Norte
• Davao de Oro
• Davao Occidental
• Butuan City

The OCTA research group has urged government to place Metro Manila under a "circuit-breaking" lockdown to curb an uptick in coronavirus infections in the capital, following the confirmation of the Delta variant's local transmission.

The local executives in the National Capital Region want the national government to implement stricter quarantine measures in Metro Manila to stem the increasing number of COVID-19 cases brought about by the Delta variant.

Governors and mayors were earlier informed of the quarantine classifications for August, and they have until this Wednesday to appeal, IATF co-chairperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

Hospitals in Metro Manila may reach full capacity by mid-August if the national government does not tighten community quarantine restrictions in the region, OCTA said Wednesday.

Based on projections from Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, Metro Manila's health care utilization rate may be 100 percent full as early as August 15, said OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco.

"Once a Delta surge begins, it accelerates in an explosive fashion," he said in an online press conference.

These are the other quarantine classifications for August.

MODIFIED ECQ
From August 1 to 15

• Bataan
• Lapu-Lapu City
• Mandaue City

GCQ
From August 1 to 31

• Baguio City
• Apayao
• City of Santiago
• Isabela
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Quezon
• Batangas
• Puerto Princesa
• Guimaras
• Negros Occidental
• Zamboanga Sibugay
• City of Zamboanga
• Zamboanga del Norte
• Davao Oriental
• Davao del Sur
• General Santos City
• Sultan Kudarat
• Sarangani
• North Cotabato
• South Cotabato
• Agusan del Norte
• Surigao del Norte
• Agusan del Sur
• Dinagay Islands
• Surigao del Sur
• Cotabato City

The rest of the Philippines is under modified GCQ, the least stringent lockdown level.

With more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 27,000 deaths, the Philippines has the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia.

The Delta variant, which is known to be many times more contagious than other mutations of COVID-19, has been confirmed to have infected at least 119 Filipinos as of July 24.

• Without Delta lockdown, NCR hospitals may reach full capacity by mid-August: OCTA

Duterte on Monday said while the country could no longer afford more lockdowns, he could not completely rule out stricter curbs if the spread of the Delta variant get worse.

He also called on the public to get vaccinated.

— With a report from Reuters

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