Palace: Reclassification of lockdowns likely but Metro Manila needs to be examined closer

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday hinted at the possibility of reclassifying community quarantines in different parts of the Philippines once again but insisted that Metro Manila, the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the country, will have to be examined closer.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is set to come up with a proposal to President Duterte this week whether to extend, lift or modify different lockdown measures enforced throughout the country.

Roque said that it is a “safe conclusion” that the government will reclassify which areas will be under what type of community quarantine as he presented a graph showing a decline in COVID 19 cases by date of onset of the illness.

“I would say that it is a safe conclusion na magkakaroon na naman po ng reclassification except iba po talaga ang Metro Manila,” Roque said in a televised press briefing in Malacañang.

(I would say that it is a safe conclusion that there will be a reclassification of lockdown measures except for Metro Manila.)

“I think Metro Manila will have to be examined closer kung mag MGCQ (modified community quarantine) siya next week [if it will shift into MGCQ next week]. I cannot conclude because the data of Metro Manila is different,” he added.

Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, Albay, Western Visayas, Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Davao City are currently under general community quarantine (GCQ) until June 15.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country is under MGCQ, the lowest form of community quarantine enforced by the government.

There are currently 21,895 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, including 4,530 recoveries and 1,003 deaths.

Nearly 55 percent or 12,000 of the cases nationwide were recorded in Metro Manila, which transitioned into GCQ this month, allowing more sectors to resume operations and allowing public transportation on a limited capacity.