Ifugao to be placed under MECQ, Puerto Princesa under GCQ
MANILA, Philippines — The government is placing the province of Ifugao under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from May 1 to 14, while it is placing the city of Puerto Princesa under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the whole month of May.
Malacañang said these two places were added to areas under stricter forms of community quarantine after their local governments appealed their quarantine status to the pandemic task force.
“Itong apela na ito ay para sa mas striktong quarantine classification dahil sabi ng lokal na pamahalaan, eh dumami ang mga kaso at hindi sapat ang kanilang mga ospital,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told state TV.
(This appeal for a stricter quarantine classification is due to local governments saying that their cases are rising and they do not have enough hospitals.)
The national government also shortened the period that Santiago City in Isabela, Quirino and Abra provinces will be under MECQ from a full month to just two weeks until May 14.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal — collectively known by the government as the “NCR Plus” bubble — will continue to be under MECQ until May 14.
Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Quezon, Tacloban CIty, Iligan City, Davao City and Lanao del Sur will be under GCQ for the whole month of May.
The rest of the Philippines, meanwhile, will be under modified general community quarantine or the laxest quarantine regime.
As of April 29, COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has hit 1,028,738, with 17,145 deaths and 942,239.
Health officials reported relatively fewer new infections this week, but sought to clarify that this was due to fewer laboratories submitting data, or a lesser number of samples being tested. — Xave Gregorio
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