NCR, Laguna, Bataan Placed Under MECQ Until Aug. 31

Metro Manila and the provinces of Laguna and Bataan will be under the less stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until the end of the month but dine-in services and in-person religious gatherings will remain prohibited in these areas.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the new classification for the National Capital Region or NCR, and Laguna will start on Saturday, Aug. 21, while that of Bataan will begin on Aug. 23.

The latest classifications, which were approved by the government's pandemic task force on Thursday, Aug. 19, are without prejudice to the strict implementation of granular lockdowns, he added.

Metro Manila, Laguna, and Bataan were placed under the strictest enhanced community quarantine previously because of rapid increases in COVID-19 infections tied to the more contagious Delta variant.

Despite the downgrade, restrictions on dine-in services, religious events, and personal care services will remain.

"Indoor and al-fresco dine-in services, and personal care services including beauty salons, beauty parlors, barbershops and nail spas shall not be allowed in the NCR, Laguna and Bataan," Roque said in a statement.

"Also, religious gatherings shall remain virtual in the NCR, Bataan and Laguna," he added.

Roque said local government units of the capital region and the two provinces were directed to improve their vaccination rates, prevent-detect-isolate-treat-reintegrate strategies, and observance and compliance with minimum public health standards.

Earlier, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said extending the ECQ in Metro Manila for another week is among the options the national government is considering to curb the continuing Delta-driven high COVID cases.

As daily COVID cases hit a near-record high of 14,895 on Thursday,  Año said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) could opt to extend the ECQ until the end of the month or downgrade to a more lenient MECQ to allow businesses to open.

“More or less that’s the good setup. We can finish the month to maximize the ECQ for aid distribution, vaccination, and to give our healthcare workers a break,” he said over radio dzBB.

Roque said President Duterte was scheduled to deliver a public address on Friday, Aug. 20, to announce the updated quarantine classifications of Metro Manila and other areas placed on lockdown, “unless, he will give authorization to have it announced earlier because the quarantine classification for Metro Manila will lapse on the 20th.”

Moderate risk

Roque noted hospitals are not yet overwhelmed despite the continuous rise in the number of infections. As of Aug. 18, 68% of intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 60 % of isolation beds, 66% of ward beds, and 53% of ventilators are in use nationwide.

For Metro Manila, healthcare utilization rate is 61% for ICU beds, 58% for isolation beds, 69% for ward beds, and 59% for ventilators.

Roque added that healthcare utilization rate in Metro Manila went down because ICU beds increased to 1,400 from 1,300.

“There is no need to decompress hospitals for now since Metro Manila remains under moderate risk,” Roque added.

“The figures are very encouraging, our ICU utilization rate has decreased here in Metro Manila. We are at moderate risk at 61%... Even on a nationwide basis, we remain at moderate risk even for ICU beds,” the Palace spokesman said.

Rethink lockdowns

Some IATF members want the ECQ lifted to help struggling businesses but others are more wary since COVID-19 cases have not declined.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) – the country’s largest business organization – is urging government to rethink the imposition of lockdowns given its impact on businesses and jobs.

“Business has already suffered from the first two lockdowns and the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant still continues. So maybe we have to rethink or revisit the lockdown as a meas-ure,” PCCI acting president Edgardo Lacson said on ABS-CBN News Channel.

Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said on Thursday the average daily jabs went up by 17,000 since Metro Manila was placed under ECQ.

“Before the ECQ our average daily vaccination is 151,924 and now it’s 168,063 so it’s higher than 17,000 compared to pre-ECQ,” Cabotaje said in a virtual briefing.

Since the ECQ started, Cabotaje said a total of 1.8 million got vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that the number of inoculated senior citizens and those with comorbidities also im-proved significantly in the past weeks.

As of Aug. 18, about 29,127,240 doses have been administered nationwide.

Total confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 1,791,003 after the DOH tallied 14,895 new cases. Of the number, 111,720 or 6.2% are active cases, while fatalities rose to 30,881 with the addition of 258 deaths. — With Louella Desiderio, Mayen Jaymalin