Relaxed quarantine in March possible – NEDA

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila may be placed under the most lenient quarantine status next month if the public observes health protocols, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) acting director-general Karl Chua said yesterday.

“We strongly believe with the data that we are seeing and if everyone cooperates, I think we can further relax after this month,” Chua said at a press briefing.

“If we don’t open the economy gradually and safely, we would have a further long-term scarring or productivity losses,” he added.

“The good news is we have lived with this virus already. So we will go through another month of GCQ, but I’m confident with the arrival of the vaccine and the data that may show that we can better manage the economy by reopening further and safely,” Chua said, referring to general community quarantine.

The Philippines aims to buy 148 million vaccine doses to inoculate 70 million people this year.

A total of 9,407,400 COVID-19 doses from the COVAX facility are expected to be delivered within the first half of 2021, while 5.6 million doses Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines may arrive within the first quarter.