MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila should remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the rest of July, a fellow from the OCTA research group suggested on Tuesday, especially with the threat of the feared Delta variant.
Dr. Ranjit Rye said that while business establishments could be given more leeway, strict health protocols must remain imposed over the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Sa NCR, I think we should continue with GCQ. Pwede tayo magluwag doon sa business establishments. Kaya ko sinasabi ito kasi may banta tayo ng Delta [variant],” he said in a televised public briefing.
(In the NCR, I think we should continue with GCQ. We may be more lenient in business establishments. I’m saying this because there is a threat with the Delta variant.)
“Although maganda sitwasyon ngayon sa NCR, kailangan tuluy tuloy at ma-sustain natin ito habang sinasabayan natin ng pag-increase ng vaccination natin,” he added.
(Although the situation in NCR is good, we need to continuously sustain this as we increase the vaccination rate.)
He said NCR is not ready to be placed under modified GCQ (MGCQ), the most lenient quarantine classification, as the government needs to further strengthen the monitoring and enforcement of minimum public health standards.
“Marami na ang nagkukumpiyansa, at nagpapabaya lalo na sa minimum public health standards. Nandito pa ang COVID-19, buhay na buhay pa siya, at mahahawa kayo pag hindi kayo mag-iingat,” Rye said.
(Many are being lax on minimum public health standards. COVID-19 is still here and very much alive and you will get infected if you are not careful.)
The Philippine government is expected to announce new quarantine classifications for the rest of July in the next few days.
At present, NCR is under GCQ “with some restrictions” until July 15.