Duterte: Metro Manila remains under general quarantine until June 30

MANILA (2ND UPDATE) - Metro Manila will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) while Cebu City will be elevated to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) starting June 16, President Rodrigo Duterte announced Monday.

Cebu City was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) again due to the increasing number of new cases, as well as widespread community transmission in the majority of the city's barangays.

Talisay City, also in Cebu province, was also placed under modified enhanced community quarantine until June 30, 2020.

Aside from Metro Manila, the following areas are also placed under GCQ until June 30:

• Cagayan
• Isabela
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Santiago City
• Aurora
• Bataan
• Bulacan
• Tarlac
• Olongapo City
• Cavite
• Laguna
• Batangas
• Rizal
• Quezon
• Occidental Mindoro
• Bohol 
• Cebu province
• Negros Oriental
• Siquijor
• Mandaue City
• Lapu-Lapu City
• Davao City
• Zamboanga City

The rest of the country remains under modified general community quarantine until June 30, 2020.

From June 1 to 15, Metro Manila and Cebu City were placed under GCQ to revive the country's bruised economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost all industries except for leisure and amusement services are allowed to operate in GCQ areas but in varying levels, based on the guidelines of the inter-agency task force.

For ECQ, the movement of people will be limited to essential services and going to work.

Up to 75 percent of the economy was reopened when Metro Manila and some urban centers were placed on GCQ, after enduring an 11-week lockdown or enhanced community quarantine, said acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

• Lockdown easing restarts 75 percent of economy: NEDA's Chua

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said he expects local government units to be more aggressive in implementing localized lockdowns in Metro Manila to prevent the further spread of the disease.

“Napagkasunduan natin na ang National Capital Region ay magiging agresibo sa pagpapatupad ng barangay lockdowns, kasi kahit na napapaliit natin yung mga namamatay, pero marami pa ring mga positive cases, mga bagong cases, sa NCR,” Ano said. 

“Ito ang pagkakataon na maimplement mabuti ang general community quarantine.”

Since logging its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Jan. 30, the Philippines already has 26,420 coronavirus infections, as of Monday, of which 19,070 are active cases. - with a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News