MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the July quarantine recommendations of the inter-agency task force on COVID-19, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

The IATF on Monday recommended that Metro Manila and surrounding Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal provinces stay under general community quarantine (GCQ), the second loosest lockdown level, with varying degrees of restriction, from July 1 to 15.

The task force also urged Duterte to place 21 areas under the second strictest lockdown level, the modified enhanced community quarantine, in the first half of July.

Here are the recommended #COVID19Quarantine classifications for the month of July.

Story here: https://t.co/H6ZDZtHeTI pic.twitter.com/eyTHvsEGtg

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) June 28, 2021

Duterte "preliminarily approved" these recommendations, said his spokesman Harry Roque.

This means local governments have until Tuesday night to appeal their quarantine levels. On Wednesday, the IATF will meet and finalize the July lockdowns, he said in a press briefing.

Video courtesy of PTV

Restrictions in Metro Manila, Bulacan, and Rizal will include a 40-percent cap on the operations of gyms, and a 50-percent limit on indoor restaurant dining, said Roque.

Meanwhile, Laguna and Cavite's "heightened restrictions" ban entertainment and recreational venues, amusement parks, traditional cockfights, contact and indoor sports, and indoor tourist attractions.

Services at salons, parlors and beauty clinics will be limited to 30 percent of the venue capacity in these 2 provinces. Indoor dining will be limited to 20 percent, which could be raised to 30 percent if an establishment has a safety seal, Roque said.

Infections in the capital region, home to at least 13 million people, have dropped since peaking in April, but some provinces are battling spikes as the country scrambles to distribute and administer vaccines.

The congested capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities and a municipality, account for about two-thirds of the country's gross domestic product.

Extended coronavirus curbs will continue to hurt the Philippines' economy, which posted a record 9.6 percent slump last year.

• PH economy has time to grow up to 7.5 pct this year despite lockdowns: NEDA

The Philippines, which has the second-highest COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, has tallied 1,403,588 coronavirus infections.

Active cases in the country hit 52,029 while deaths reached 24,456, as of June 28, according to the health department.

• COVID-19 cases in Philippines top 1.4 million as 5,604 new infections recorded

The Philippines has so far been able to administer at least 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, as of Monday.

• Philippines administers 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines; 2.5 million fully protected

The government aims to vaccinate at least 58 million of its 108 million population to achieve "population protection" and safely reopen the economy.

• Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

– With a report from Reuters

More details to follow.

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