Palace warns ECQ may be reimposed if…
As quarantine measures were eased nationwide yesterday, Malacañang warned the people that stricter protocols under another enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) could be reimposed if the public fails to observe safe physical distancing and health standards that would prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Metro Manila, home to more than 12 million people and contributor of a third of the country’s gross domestic product, shifted from modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to the more lenient general community quarantine (GCQ) on
yesterday.
Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions, Baguio City, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Albay in Luzon, Central Visayas region and Iloilo City in the Visayas, and the cities of Zamboanga and Davao in Mindanao have also been downgraded to GCQ while the rest of the country are now under the most lenient modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
“No place in the Philippines is under ECQ and MECQ. But if many of us do not follow health protocols or do not observe social distancing or physical distancing, wash hands, and continue to leave their homes for unnecessary reasons, we may revert to ECQ or MECQ,” said presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
Officials have advised the public not to be complacent even if quarantine measures have been relaxed, saying the easing is being done to reopen the economy gradually and not because the threat of the virus is no longer present.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said that despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases, officials are convinced that the measures being implemented by the government are working.
“The lowering of (positive) rate is in our hands. We have to be homeliners. If we do not need to go out, stay at home, wash your hands, wear face mask, use disinfectants and for employers, if possible, adopt alternative work arrangements,” he added.
Año claimed the additional cases are old ones and the increase in the number of deaths is not that sharp.
“We do not see congestion in hospitals. That is a good indicator that we are containing this virus. Despite the late reporting, the situation is not that bad because we thought we are running out of hospital beds and hundreds are dying,” Año said.
“Overall, we can handle this situation and it does not mean we would go back to ECQ because based on our indicators, our health sector can respond to the patients of COVID,” he added.
Roque, however, noted that the capacity of hospitals may be overwhelmed if the number of cases increase.
“We have 1,273 ICU (intensive care unit) beds, 820 of them vacant and 453 of them occupied. While this is a good sign, it can be filled up easily if we are not careful and we do not follow health protocols,” the Palace spokesman said.
Survival of the fittest
Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the national policy on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), disputed notions that it would be survival of the fittest once Metro Manila is placed under GCQ.
Galvez said businesses and local governments have been implementing strict measures to contain the virus, which has so far infected more than 18,000 people in the Philippines. “I don’t think it’s right to say it would be survival of the fittest because based on what we saw, people are complying,” Galvez said.
“We can see that the business sector, they’re heightening up the strict protocols. We are even happy that the LGUs (local government units) in Metro Manila and the business sector have high awareness – even stricter than the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases). We can see the concern of the LGUs and business sector,” he added.
Galvez also justified the IATF’s recommendation to ease quarantine restrictions, saying there is a need to reopen the economy.
President Duterte is expected to perform official functions while in Davao City, including presiding over a meeting of the government’s coronavirus pandemic task force, Roque said yesterday.
Duterte went home to Davao City over the weekend, the second time he traveled to the southern city since the
Philippines imposed quarantine protocols.
The first time was in the middle of May or 67 days after he was stuck in Malacañang because of lockdown measures.
“First, the President remained in Manila for 67 days and he went home for three days... So three days are not enough. But now that he is in Mindanao, he is not there just for a reunion. He would also monitor what is happening in Mindanao,” Roque said.
“He will have official functions in Davao, including delivering a report to the nation and meeting with some members of the IATF,” he added.
Roque said some members of the IATF would travel to Davao to attend the meeting. The President may deliver a public address from the southern city on June 4, he added.