MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila and nine other areas will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) as they welcom 2021.
In a pre-recorded speech on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the extension of the GCQ in Metro Manila for the entire month of January.
Areas also welcoming the new year under GCQ are four provinces — Davao del Norte, Batangas, Isabela, Lanao del Sur — and five cities — Santiago, Iloilo, Tacloban, Iligan, and Davao.
The rest of the country will be under the more lenient modified GCQ.
The announcement of quarantine classifications for January comes with the emergence of a new coronavirus strain from the United Kingdom.
Earlier, Duterte warned that stricter quarantine measures could be reimposed should the new strain spread across the country.
Due to the new strain, which is said to be more infectious, several countries, including the Philippines, imposed a travel ban on the United Kingdom to prevent possible transmission.
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