Some areas in PH may be under ‘new normal’ by July — Año

MANILA, Philippines — Some areas in the country may shift to “new normal” by July, which means coronavirus lockdown is lifted but minimum health standards are still in place, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Friday.

“Ang MGCQ (modified general community quarantine), kapag bababaan mo na, ito ‘yung tinatawag natin na bagong normal o new normal pero sa tingin natin (government) sa kabuuan ng June, wala pang lugar ang ready na pumunta sa bagong normal kasi kailangan nang masusing pag-aaral pa diyan dahil yung paligid niya may mga cases pa rin,” Año, vice chair of Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, said over dzBB when asked about the fate of community quarantine in the Philippines.

(If you downgrade the MGCQ, it will shift to a new normal but we think that in the whole of June, there are no areas yet ready for the new normal because we need to evaluate as some areas still have cases.)

“Sa tingin natin sa July pa magkakaroon ng new normal (We think that some areas will be under new normal by July),” he added.

Año, however, did not identify the areas that could be placed under the new normal.

Under new normal, minimum public health rules will still be imposed, while the coronavirus outbreak remains without a cure or vaccine.

President Rodrigo Duterte will have a meeting with the IATF on June 15 to decide whether to lift, extend, or modify coronavirus quarantine in the country.

Currently, Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, Albay, Western Visayas, Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Davao City are currently under GCQ while the rest of the country is under MGCQ until June 15.

As of Thursday, coronavirus cases in the Philippines soared to 24,175, of which, 1,036 have died while 5,165 have recovered from the disease.

EDV