Metro Manila, 5 other places to stay under GCQ

September 29 ------ President Duterte has approved keeping the National Capital Region (NCR) under the general community quarantine (GCQ) along with five other areas for the entire month of October.

In a statement, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to place the following under GCQ:

* National Capital Region

* Batangas province

* Tacloban City

* Iloilo City

* Bacolod City

* Iligan City

Lanao del Sur, including Marawi City, is still under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

The rest of the country, meanwhile, is under the modified GCQ (MGCQ) or the quarantine level with less strict protocols implemented. Metro Manila, Batangas, and Tacloban were under GCQ during the last quarantine period (September 1 to 30) while Bacolod City and Iligan City were both under the MECQ. Iloilo City, meanwhile, also reverted to GCQ after being placed under the MECQ on September 25. The MECQ period was supposed to last until October 9.

To date, the Philippines has recorded 307,288 COVID-19 cases, 5,381 of whom died while 252,665 recovered. Earlier, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had recommended keeping Metro Manila under the general community quarantine (GCQ) along with one province and four cities for the month of October. President Duterte met with Duque and the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases before approving the updated quarantine classification on Monday evening.

Source: mb.com.ph