GCQ until year-end still subject to IATF approval: Palace

FILE: A police officer checks the documents presented by the motorcycle-riding couple entering San Mateo town at a quarantine checkpoint along Batasan-San Mateo Road in Rizal province on Thursday (August 13, 2020). (PNA photo by Joseph O. Razon)

MANILA – Even if Metro Manila mayors want to keep the region under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the rest of the year, Malacañang on Monday said a shift to a less stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MGCQ) is still possible with a decrease in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.

In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque acknowledged that Metro Manila mayors have agreed to a continued GCQ instead of recommending a downgrade to MGCQ.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also agreed with the mayors’ decision, stressing that further relaxing quarantine restrictions in the metropolis may lead to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

However, Roque noted that the recommendation to remain under GCQ until the end of the year is still subject to the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

“Well, iyan po ang parang nabubuong consensus pero siyempre po hindi ko pupuwedeng pangunahan ‘no (that seems to be the consensus, but I can’t preempt it) because it is a collegial decision,” he said.

He said more industries have been allowed to resume operations, as long as health and safety protocols are observed.

According to Roque, downgrading to MGCQ will only be possible if Covid-19 infections continue to lower.

“Ang sinabi ko naman po pupuwede kung patuloy na bumaba ang numero ‘no. Bumababa po talaga ang numero ‘no pero monthly naman po ang ating desisyon so hindi pa naman tapos ang Oktubre (What I said is that it’s possible if numbers continue to decrease. Numbers are really decreasing but we make decisions monthly and October hasn’t ended yet),” he said.

He also admitted that the IATF is hesitant about further relaxing quarantine restrictions as it may result in the public being too relaxed over the prevailing Covid-19 threat.

Luckily, he said the public continues to follow health and safety quarantine protocols such as wearing face masks and face shields, frequent handwashing, and physical distancing.

As of Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) logged 2,638 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the national case tally to 359,169.

Recoveries increased to 310,303 with 226 more patients cleared of the infection, while the death toll hit 6,675, with 26 new deaths.