New quarantine classifications to be announced on July 30 — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to announce on Thursday the updated quarantine classifications of areas, a day after the number of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases breached 85,000 as predicted by experts.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government's pandemic task force already has recommendations but some local governments are still appealing their classification.

"As always, I can’t announce it, because it will be the president that will announce it on Thursday, if I am not mistaken. And there’s still appeals to be made by the local government units. So the recommendations are all preliminary subject to finalization on Thursday," Roque told CNN Philippines Wednesday.  

Roque previously said Metro Manila, which contributes a third of the country's gross domestic product, may be placed under stricter quarantine if the forecast of University of the Philippines experts that the Philippines would have 85,000 infections by the end of the month is realized. The health department Wednesday reported that the number of infected persons in the Philippines has risen to 85,486, with 1,874 new cases, 1,962 deaths and 26,996 recoveries.

The relatively low utilization rate of its health facilities allowed Metro Manila to dodge a more stringent lockdown and to remain under the lenient general community quarantine since June 1. The capital region, which is home to more than 12 million people, accounts for more than half or about 45,000 infections in the country.

But Roque admitted Wednesday that the critical health care capacity of the region has become a problem.

"Our case doubling rate is fine – we’re now at 8.9 (days). We actually improved because the higher the case doubling rate is, the longer, the better. But as you mentioned, it’s critical care capacity that’s the problem because ICU (intensive care unit) beds, we have reached around 80%," the Palace spokesman said.

"But there are steps that can be done – rationalization of hospital beds, including ICU beds is a solution and if we have to, we will build more ICU beds really for as long as the case doubling rate is under control," he added.

Pressed about Metro Manila's chances of returning to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine, Roque did not give a direct answer. 

"Metro Manila will be a living experiment and it’s an experiment that we believe we can be successful at, and it will be something that we can be proud of," he said, noting that the decision would be based on case doubling rate and critical care capacity. 

As the number of persons with COVID-19 continue to rise, the government is eyeing "major" changes in the way it handles the health crisis.

"Definitely it’s not going to be status quo. No, it’s not going to be status quo. Nothing will be status quo from this classification," Roque said.
 
"Let’s just say that things will not be the same, there will be major changes in our response to the pandemic," he added.

Roque said the government has improved its capability to conduct tests and contact tracing. The administration is also planning to build more isolation facilities, noting that infected persons with mild or no symptoms may no longer undergo home quarantine if they do not have their own bathrooms and bedrooms.

"So, it’s not so much to the classification that will matter, but the responses, the new invigorated responses that we will have in this COVID-19 pandemic," Roque said.