FILE PHOTO: Filipinos use their smartphones while queueing for free vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at San Andres Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines, July 21, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
MANILA, Philippines — Active COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila could balloon to almost 500,000 by the end of September if an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will not be imposed, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
“Based on the projections that were done by our experts, if we did not go into ECQ and we will just have four weeks of GCQ with heightened restrictions, by the end of September 30, we will have almost 500,000 active cases,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told ABS-CBN News Channel.
“With four weeks of ECQ, the active cases by the end of September will just reach about 19,000. And with our current state that we are having right now with one-week GCQ with heightened [restrictions] and another two weeks or three weeks [of ECQ] after that, we will have active cases by the end of September at around 30,000,” she added.
Vergeire told INQUIRER.net in a text message that the “initial estimates” only cover Metro Manila.
Metro Manila will be placed under ECQ, the most restrictive quarantine classification, from August 6 to 20 following the proposal of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and mayors of the capital region to arrest a full-blown surge of coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant.
Metro Manila will stay under general community quarantine with heightened and additional restrictions until August 5 where indoor and al fresco dining are prohibited.
Vergeire said the government will closely monitor the trend of COVID-19 cases in the NCR and will assess if the ECQ should be extended or downgraded to a lower quarantine status.
Metro Manila has 13,335 active cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday, based on the COVID-19 tracker of the DOH. Nationwide, the number of active cases is already at 63,646.