MANILA, Philippines — Local executives in the capital region are wary of easing quarantine restrictions in December, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez said Thursday.
With Metro Manila currently under a general community quarantine (GCQ), Galvez said mayors hope that any further easing to a modified GCQ will be postponed until 2021, after the holiday season.
"We reiterate, even though some [areas] are under MGCQ, we are calling to the attention of the [local government units], through our [Interior] Secretary [Eduardo] Año, that we should tighten our restrictions a bit, the unnecessary, non-essential movements," he said in Filipino during a virtual briefing aired on state-run PTV.
During the same briefing, presidential spokesman Harry Roque revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte would be waiting until the last day of the month to announce the new classifications.
"The [Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases] will talk about the dates this week...I was told that the president would speak to the people on November 30. That's where he will announce the change in classifications if any," he said in Filipino and English.
As of this writing, COVID-19 cases in the country have exceeded 422,000 and a staggering 8,215 people have died. It has been 256 days since parts of the country were first placed under lockdown — marking the longest community quarantine period in the world. — Bella Perez-Rubio