MANILA, Philippines — The province of Laguna will be on lockdown until August 20 to address the surge in COVID-19 infections and to improve its capacity to treat persons who caught the virus, Malacañang said Saturday.
Laguna was initially placed under the most stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until August 15 but was downgraded to the more relaxed modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) beginning August 16 until the end of the month. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), however, decided to bring back the province to ECQ.
"The Inter-Agency Task Force has extended the enhanced community quarantine of Laguna until Aug. 20, 2021, upon the recommendation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and after consultation with the local government of Laguna," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.
"This latest ECQ re-classification was made to maximize its effects, slow down the surge of COVID-19 cases, further stop the spread of variants and improve health system capacity to protect more lives in the aforesaid area," he added.
Roque said the change in classification was in line with Executive Order 112 giving authority to the IATF to impose, lift, or extend a community quarantine in provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities.
Aside from Laguna, Metro Manila, the country's economic center will also remain under ECQ until Aug. 20. Bataan, meanwhile, will be under the same classification until August 22.