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GCQ with restrictions, ‘effective’ as NCR+ cases decline: DOH
MANILA – A Department of Health (DOH) official said Saturday the extension of general community quarantine (GCQ) with restrictions has been “effective” based on the continued decline in new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus areas.
The national government extended on May 31 the GCQ with restrictions status in the NCR Plus (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna) from June 1 to 15.
“Sa tingin namin talagang naging epektibo kasi nakita natin talaga ‘yong patuloy na pagbaba ng kaso dito sa NCR Plus bubble. Nakita natin na ‘yong talagang peak natin from March to April talagang patuloy pong bumababa (We believe it has been effective because we have seen the number of cases in the NCR Plus bubble decrease. There has been a downward trend from the peak that we witnessed from March to April),” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a Laging Handa briefing.
Over the past week, the NCR Plus accounted for 27 percent of the country’s new Covid-19 cases.
From March 29 to April 4, about 94 percent of the new cases came from the bubble, OCTA Research said Saturday.
In Metro Manila alone, the average daily number of new cases went down by 17 percent to 926 in the June 4-10 period, from 1,116 in the previous period.
Vergeire said the average daily cases reached 4,000 to 5,000 during the outbreak, but if the downward trend continues, the NCR might reach the “safe zone” soon.
“Nakita natin na na-decongest din ang mga ospital ngunit ang aming tinitignan ngayon ay ang Visayas at Mindanao kung saan nakakakita po tayo ng mga pagkapuno ng ospital (Hospitals in the NCR are starting to decongest. We are now monitoring the Visayas and Mindanao where there has been an increase in admissions),” she said.
The OCTA tagged Dumaguete, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro City, Iloilo City, Butuan, Tuguegarao, and Cotabato City as “areas of concern” due to high hospital bed utilization rates greater than 70 percent.
