General community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila is set to last until July 15, but that status could be extended, and we could all still be cooped at home for a longer period of time.
It is likely that President Rodrigo Duterte will announce the country’s new quarantine rules and classifications on July 15, the Palace said on July 13.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, the country’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) is set to meet tomorrow to forward their final recommendation to the President.
"Posible pong Miyerkoles maanunsyo ang classification dahil mayroon pa pong last meeting ang IATF bukas po, araw ng Tuesday para sa final recommendation sa Presidente," Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.
To recall, only Cebu City was placed under enhanced community quarantine—the strictest category—from July 1 to 15. This comes after the area saw a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Metro Manila, Benguet, Cavite, Rizal, Leyte and Southern Leyte, the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Talisay, and Ormoc, and the towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion were placed under GCQ in that same period.
Other areas in the Philippines were placed under modified general community quarantine, the last step before easing into the “new normal.”
According to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., areas that saw an increase in critical COVID-19 cases could get stricter quarantines.
"May mga areas po na mag-escalate considering na nakita po natin na tumataas po ang ating mga severe at critical cases, at the same time yung new cases tumataas din po," he said.
With the economy still recovering from the 3-month long pause, Metro Manila mayors recommended sticking to GCQ, as placing it under a stricter quarantine could set the economy back once more.
"Nagkakaroon kasi tayo ng rebalancing ng economy tsaka health," Galvez said.
With more than 1,000 cases hitting the country every day, it’s unlikely that the quarantine measures and restrictions in Metro Manila would be eased, Roque said.
"Datos po ang tinitingnan natin kung tayo ay magluluwag at siguro po at this point, the data does not indicate na puwedeng magluwag po at least sa Metro Manila," he said.
As of July 13, 4 p.m., the Philippines has recorded 57,006 cases, with 20,371 recoveries and 1,599 deaths.
Researchers from the University of the Philippines projected that we may see 60,000 cases by the end of July, and at least 100,000 cases by the end of August.
