NCR+ fate still under study

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is still assessing the quarantine classification that will be implemented in Metro Manila and its four nearby provinces after Sunday, April 11.

Malacañang announced on Saturday that “President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is weighing the pros and cons before making his final decision regarding the quarantine classification of the National Capital Region Plus Area,” a press statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque read.

Members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) met on Saturday to discuss the fate of National Capital Region Plus (NCR Plus), which has been under the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) category since March 29.

Roque did not divulge the IATF-EID’s recommendation for Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

He said Duterte has to study first the “pertinent” data, including the health care utilization rate in NCR Plus, before making a decision.

“The Chief Executive would like to review and check pertinent information such as the Health Care Utilization Rate of the aforesaid area,” he said.

Roque, who also announced earlier that he is in the hospital for Covid-19 treatment, said he would give an update, “once everything has been made final.”

In his previous press briefing, Roque said the NCR Plus quarantine classification after April 11 would depend on the effectiveness of the “prevent, detect, isolate, treat, and reintegration” strategies.

Quirino province and Santiago City, Isabela are under modified ECQ until April 15 and 30, respectively.

The less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) is imposed in Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur for the whole of April.

The rest of the country is under modified GCQ, the most relaxed quarantine status.