(FILE) Scenes during the resumption of the MRT-3 operations at the North Avenue Station in Quezon City on the first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila on Monday, June 1, 2020. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday expressed hope that all local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines will shift to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ)—the most lenient community quarantine —by the first quarter of 2021.
This, however, may only be possible if LGUs are successful in achieving gatekeeping indicators such as compliance with standards on prevention, contact tracing and treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.
“Napag-usapan na rin sa IATF na kailangan may mga safeguard tayo or kundisyon para masabi natin if a local government is already capable of already shifting to this MGCQ” DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa press briefing.
(This has been discussed before with the IATF that we should have a safeguard or condition to say that a local government is already capable of shifting to this MGCQ.)
“At isa po dyan yung ating tinatawag na indicators for gatekeeping sa local government,” she added.
(And one of them are the indicators for gatekeeping in the local government.)
“Ibig sabihin kailangan yung inyong mga surveillance system, yung mga contact tracing is efficient, kailangan kayo ay nakakapagpatupad ng sinasabi natin na basic na pangangailangan ng isang local government para makapag-prevent, nakakapag-detect, isolate and treat tayo ng pasyente.”
(This means that our surveillance system, our contact tracing is efficient, we have achieved the basic needs of a local government to prevent, detect, isolate, and treat patients.)
“Ating tinitignan na (We are looking at) by the first quarter of 2021, hopefully, all local governments will be able to shift to MGCQ already because they have achieved their gatekeeping indicators,” Vergeire later expressed.
Currently, Metro Manila, the provinces of Batangas and Lanao del Sur, and the cities of Iloilo, Bacolod, Tacloban, and Iligan are under general community quarantine (GCQ) until Nov. 30.
Areas not mentioned will be under MGCQ, Malacañang said.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is at 380,729, with 7,221 deaths and 331,046 recoveries.