Metro Manila, 4 provinces back to less restrictive GCQ starting Aug. 19

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila will revert to the less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) from Aug. 19 to 31 after a two-week reimposition of a strict coronavirus lockdown.

In a speech aired Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said Metro Manila, as well as the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan, will be placed under GCQ.

Other areas placed under GCQ are Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon in Luzon; Iloilo City, Cebu City, Lapu Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, the municipalities of Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu province in the Visayas.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Philippines are placed under the most lenient modified general community quarantine or MGCQ.

Metro Manila has been under GCQ since July but was placed back under modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ amid the continuous surge in coronavirus infections.

The reimposition of the MECQ in Metro Manila and nearby provinces was in line with the appeal of the medical community for a two-week “timeout” to for them to recuperate from exhaustion in battling the pandemic and to prevent the collapse of the health care system amid the continuous surge in coronavirus infections.

As of Monday, the Philippines recorded a total of 164,474 COVID-19 cases, including 112,759 recoveries and 2,681 deaths.

More than half or 91,934 of the cases were recorded in Metro Manila, which remains as the epicenter of the outbreak in the country.

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