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Extend or lower ECQ? Metro Manila mayors leave it up to COVID-19 task force

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Police officers flag down motorcycles passing through a checkpoint along a busy road in Sta. Ana, Manila on Wednesday as the capital region remains under enhanced community quarantine. " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/08/18/20210818-covi-mobility-ecq-manila-gc-4431.jpg"/><figcaption>Police officers flag down motorcycles passing through a checkpoint along a busy road in Sta. Ana, Manila on Wednesday as the capital region remains under enhanced community quarantine. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA (UPDATE) — Metro Manila mayors made no recommendation on whether or not to extend the capital region&#x27;s lockdown and left it up to the inter-agency task force on COVID-19, their representative said on Wednesday, as coronavirus infections continued to climb. </p><p>The enhanced community quarantine over Metro Manila&#x27;s more than 13 million people will lapse on Friday, Aug. 20. </p><p>While the mayors of the region&#x27;s 16 cities and lone town &quot;know what is happening on the ground,&quot; they &quot;have to weigh both economic and health factors in our decision,&quot; said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/08/17/21/jeepney-drivers-ask-for-alms-as-ecq-in-ncr-remains">Jeepney drivers ask for alms as ECQ in NCR remains</a></li></ul><p>&quot;We feel it best to leave the decision to the wisdom and judgement of the IATF,&quot; he said of possible quarantine changes. <br/> <br/>&quot;This is a very sensitive and critical matter right now. We do not want to have any wrong decision,&quot; the official said in a virtual press conference. </p><div><strong>AYUDA</strong></div><p>Abalos said the mayors opted not to make a recommendation on the quarantine classification after meeting on Tuesday with health experts, the interior department, economic managers, and vaccine &quot;czar&quot; Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. </p><p>During the meeting, he noted it was unclear if some projections on ECQ extension were based on vaccination data in July or August.</p><p>&quot;Iyong projections medyo, siguro, aayusin pa nila,&quot; Abalos said. </p><p>(The projections, perhaps, they will need to fix first.)</p><p>Metro Manila has received from the national government around P11.25 billion in cash aid to help poor residents cope with the ECQ. <br/> <br/>&quot;Hindi namin alam ang magiging desisyon ng IATF. Kung ito’y ECQ, ayuda is a big issue there, kung mayroon pang pang-ayuda ang national government; I really do not know,&quot; Abalos said. </p><p>(We do not know what the decision of the IATF will be. If this is ECQ, cash aid is a big issue there, whether or not the government has enough funds for assistance.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/govt-adviser-suggests-metro-manila-mecq-shift">Gov&#x27;t adviser suggests Metro Manila MECQ, localized lockdowns</a></li></ul><p>The IATF would discuss on Thursday the quarantine levels for the rest of the month, Abalos said. </p><div><strong> VACCINATION FALLS SHORT OF TARGET </strong></div><p>Metro Manila fell short of its target to give out 250,000 COVID-19 shots a day during its Aug. 6-20 ECQ, Abalos acknowledged. Inoculations, he said, peaked at about 240,000 coronavirus jabs last Aug. 12. </p><p>Challenges to the immunization drive include delayed certificates of analysis for some jabs, some people&#x27;s preference for particular brands, and limited manpower, the official said. </p><p>In total, Metro Manila has administered some 10 million COVID-19 jabs, Abalos said. Around 90 percent of the region&#x27;s senior citizens have received their first jab, while around 46 percent of people with comorbidity have also gotten at least one jab, he said. </p><p>Abalos noted critical cases of COVID-19 this ECQ are fewer compared to previous surges, despite the rise in the number of active cases. He attributed this to the vaccination drive. </p><p>&quot;In the sense na iyong pagbabakuna ay talagang itinodo namin, for us, is a success on that aspect,&quot; Abalos said, when asked on how he would assess the ECQ. </p><p>(In the sense that we maxed up our vaccination is a success for for us on that aspect.)</p><p>Battling one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, the Philippines has tallied some 1.7 million infections and around 30,000 deaths. Authorities are scrambling to contain the highly contagious <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/16/21/delta-lambda-variants-in-ph-worrying-health-expert">Delta variant</a> linked to a recent spike in coronavirus cases. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/ph-lists-11085-more-covid-infections-161-new-deaths">COVID-19 cases in Philippines rise by 11,085; active cases over 105,000</a></li></ul><p>Authorities aim to immunize up to 70 million people this year to safely reopen the economy. At least 12.7 million people have been fully vaccinated nationwide so far. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/not-guinea-pigs-fda-blasts-claims-on-vaccine-toxicity">Not guinea pigs: FDA blasts claims on vaccine toxicity</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/17/21/expert-allays-fears-on-waning-effect-of-covid-19-jabs">Waning antibodies? Vaccine shots still effective even after months of inoculation, says expert</a></li></ul><div> </div><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1748646" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Metro Manila mayors made no recommendation on whether or not to extend the region's ECQ and left it up to the COVID-19 task force. 

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Extend or lower ECQ? Metro Manila mayors leave it up to COVID-19 task force

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 18, 2021 05:12 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 18, 2021 06:41 PM PHT

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