NCR to remain under GCQ in January

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no changes in the quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila this January despite concerns about a possible post-holiday surge in COVID-19 infections.

The National Capital Region, the country’s economic center, and nine other areas will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) from Jan. 1 to 31, President Duterte announced last night.

Other areas that will be under GCQ for the entire month of January are Isabela, Santiago City, Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban, Lanao del Sur, Iligan, Davao City and Davao del Norte.

The rest of the country will be under the most lenient modified general community quarantine or MGCQ.

“Stay home if possible, if you can. It’s for your own good,” the President said in a nationally televised address.

Last Saturday, Duterte said a lockdown could be imposed anew if the situation gets worse because of a new COVID-19 strain. Officials have said the virus variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, has not entered the Philippines. Earlier, the chairman of the Metro Manila Council (MMC).said it may not be time yet for a more lenient community quarantine for Metro Manila next year amid the threat posed by a newly discovered strain of coronavirus

“I don’t think I’m in favor of MGCQ,” MMC chairman and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez yesterday said in Filipino over radio station dzBB, referring to modified general community quarantine. Metro Manila is currently under general community quarantine.

Under MGCQ, more businesses may reopen and larger crowds would be allowed in public events.

The MMC, composed of Metro Manila mayors, has yet to agree on the level of community quarantine that it would recommend to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

President Duterte was expected to announce last night either an adjustment or retention of the community quarantine status for Metro Manila.

Metro Manila has been under GCQ since June, but with some adjustments to allow more people to go to work or reopen their businesses.

The current quarantine status allows local governments to impose lockdowns in certain neighborhoods where high COVID-19 transmission is detected.

He pointed out that the new coronavirus strain discovered in the United Kingdom, which has reached other parts of Europe and even South Africa, poses a new threat to public health and might trigger a “second surge” of infections in the region.

“We are still unfamiliar with the new strain… we cannot afford a second surge in Metro Manila,” he said.

For his part, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Jose Arturo Garcia said Metro Manila local governments should compel people arriving from UK, and other parts of Europe and South Africa, to undergo 14-day quarantine.

“When a surge happens, we cannot manage having another lockdown,” he said.

In a memorandum issued last Sunday, Olivarez ordered all barangay captains to “strictly comply with the existing health standard protocols for COVID-19.”

He told them to “be vigilant by closely and strictly monitoring all balikbayans in your area of jurisdiction, especially those coming from the UK, South Africa and Europe for bio syndromic surveillance.”

Bio syndromic surveillance is an analysis of medical data to detect or anticipate outbreak of diseases.

Keep GCQ status

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) also said it is in favor of keeping Metro Manila under GCQ, as it sees no need for stricter health measures such as lockdowns despite the discovery of a new coronavirus strain.

Unless it is proven that the new strain has already entered the country, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said placing Metro Manila under lockdown is out of the question.

“For me, enforcing lockdowns is not yet needed because we still don’t have proof that (the new strain) had already entered the country. We still don’t have a transmission of that kind of strain,” he said in an interview over TeleRadyo.

Over the weekend, President Duterte said a lockdown could be possible if the variant is detected in the country.

The government has also extended its ban on travel to the United Kingdom due to the threat.

Año said the government is assessing the impact of what appeared to be loose compliance with restrictions during the Christmas season. He said that even if restrictions were being strictly enforced, there were still people who were able to hold gatherings.

“Those who were infected on Christmas Day or last Dec. 24, we still don’t know because their viral load is still increasing. We might see them experiencing symptoms on Thursday or Friday,” he said.

“And then that’s the only time they’ll get tested. If they test positive we have to trace those they gathered with,” he added, saying the country may see the effects of the holiday season on rate of transmission by the first week of January.

The DILG chief also noted that several testing services were closed during the holiday season.

“Some laboratories haven’t submitted test results. When they return operations on full blast, that’s when we’ll know,” he added.

Based on the DOH’s Case Bulletin for COVID-19, 15 laboratories were not able to submit reports of their swab tests done on Dec. 26.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said testing laboratories should remain open even during the holidays, as there is a need to be prepared for expected spike in cases.

“Your commitment to continue operations in spite of the holidays is noteworthy as much as it is needed. I likewise urge all laboratories to do the same and aid the government in meeting the increased testing demand that comes with the observed increase in cases,” he added.

There are now 153 laboratories licensed to do real time-polymerase chain reaction tests and 60 registered to do GenExpert tests. Eighty-four laboratories have pending applications for license. – Alexis Romero, Neil Jayson Servallos, Sheila Crisostomo