COVID-19 task force ready to enforce ECQ in NCR
MANILA, Philippines — If Metro Manila reverts to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), it will be much easier for the police to enforce health protocols to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
[Editor’s note: After the day’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Palace announced that Metro Manila and other places would again be under strict lockdown.]
“Based on our experience, it is better and easier to enforce ECQ rather than general community quarantine (GCQ) for the reason that it is stricter. Fewer people are outside so it is easier for us to be on the lookout,” Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield commander Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a radio interview over dzBB on Sunday.
Authorized persons only
“Basically if we are under ECQ, only a few persons are allowed outside so we can check all vehicles that are going through the checkpoints [compared to] GCQ or modified GCQ where practically almost everyone is allowed [to go out] and it’s impractical to check the vehicles,” he added.
Eleazar assured the public that the police and other member agencies of the JTF COVID Shield were ready to enforce ECQ should Metro Manila revert to the status, saying, “We’re just waiting for the guidance [from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases].”
Essential businesses
Under ECQ, the establishments allowed to open are limited to essential businesses while only authorized persons outside of residence, including quarantine pass holders, are allowed to go outside while observing quarantine protocols like the wearing of face masks.
Quarantine control points are also set up on the boundaries of cities and towns unlike under GCQ or modified GCQ where checkpoints are placed at the borders of regions and provinces.
Health workers have asked the President in a letter to put Metro Manila under ECQ for two weeks to improve pandemic control strategies as health-care facilities are being overwhelmed by the continuous surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.
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What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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