Davao City under MECQ; GenSan reverts to GCQ starting June 5

MANILA – Davao City will be placed under a more restrictive modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), while General Santos City will be put under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Saturday (June 5), Malacañang announced on Friday.

This developed after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the appeals of local officials from Davao and General Santos cities to impose stricter quarantine protocols within their localities due to a spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Davao City will be under MECQ until June 20, while General Santos City will be under GCQ until June 30.

“The Inter-Agency Task Force on Thursday, June 3, 2021, approved to place Davao City under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine beginning June 5 until June 20, 2021. The IATF likewise approved the General Community Quarantine status of General Santos City starting June 5 until June 30, 2021,” Roque said in a press statement.

Davao City and General Santos City are currently placed under GCQ and modified GCQ, respectively.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte asked the IATF-EID on Wednesday to place the city under MECQ from June 5 to 30 to allow a “circuit breaker in the surge of patients inside hospitals.”

A rise in Covid-19 infections was observed in the Davao Region for the month of May due to the clustering of cases where people usually convened like workplace and gatherings, based on the data from the Department of Health’s regional office.

Around 783 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the region in the first week of May, 754 cases in the second week, 961 cases in the third week, and 1,772 cases in the fourth week.

An alarming rise in Covid-19 cases was also evident in General Santos City.

The General Santos City Health Office has noted that the average testing positivity rate in the area is currently at 23.39 percent, higher than the 5 percent threshold set by the World Health Organization.

Other areas under MECQ until June 15 include the City of Santiago and Cagayan, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo City, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro City, Butuan City, and Agusan del Sur in Caraga.

GCQ is imposed in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Abra, Baguio City, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Batangas, Quezon, Iligan City, Davao City, Lanao del Sur, and Cotabato City until June 30.

The rest of the country stays under modified GCQ until the end of the month.