House leader wants ECQ extended in NCR, other COVID-19 hotspots

MANILA, Philippines — House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. on Thursday called for an extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and other areas with a high concentration of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

“Given the high rate of transmission in some parts of Metro Manila, we need to extend the ECQ in NCR and strictly implement it so no one comes in and goes out,” Abante said in a statement.

Abante, however, said that a modified quarantine can instead be implemented in places in NCR with minimal cases to allow business establishments and industries to operate at least three days a week.

Meanwhile, Abante is proposing the isolation of areas that recently recorded zero transmissions.

“There are 27 provinces that today have zero cases of COVID-19 and one of our priorities should be to ensure that we prevent the disease from spreading there,” Abante said.

“Perhaps we can consider lifting the ECQ in these provinces so businesses can reopen and residents there can go back to work,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier placed all of Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine in March as the number of people infected with the new virus swells.

The lockdown was supposed to end mid-April but Duterte extended it until April 30.

However, Duterte will decide this week whether to extend the lockdown or reduce its enforcement to parts of the island with large numbers of coronavirus infections.

EDV