Metro Manila mayors favor GCQ extension until February

Photo by Gabriel Pabico Lalu/ INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila mayors are in favor of further extending the general community quarantine (GCQ) until February, Metro Manila Council (MMC) chairman and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Thursday.

“Ang consensus po ng nakakarami, ng lahat, ng buong council yung 16 na city mayors at isang municipal mayor na irekomenda po sa ating IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] ay manatili po tayo sa GCQ sa darating na February,” Olivarez said in an interview on Telerdyo.

(The consensus among the entire council, the 16 city mayors and one municipal mayor is to recommend to the IATF to stay under GCQ in February.)

Olivarez said it would be tough to have an increase in Covid-19 cases, especially with the detection of a new variant that is said to be more infectious.

“Kung mag luluwag po tayo, napakahirap po na magkaroon tayo ng spike lalong lalo na parating na po yung ating vaccine,” he added.

(If we ease restrictions, it will be hard to manage a spike in Covid-19 cases, especially with the vaccine already arriving.)

Metro Manila has been under GCQ since June 2020, except for two weeks in August when the region shifted to a more stringent modified enchanced community quarantine as requested by medical frontliners. ###

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