GCQ with “heighted restrictions” now in effect in NCR Plus

by Elton Gagni / May 14, 2021

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Metro Manila City Mayors as well as the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to relax the lockdown measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area which includes Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal, placing it under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions.

This new announcement follows the two-week extension of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine which ends today, May 14, 2021.

The new community quarantine restrictions will be in effect from May 15-31, 2021. Below are the areas included per classification:

MECQ

• Santiago City
• Quirino province
• Ifugao province
• Zamboanga City

GCQ “with heightened restrictions”

• Metro Manila
• Bulacan
• Rizal
• Cavite
• Laguna

GCQ

• Cordillera Administrative Region: Apayao, Baguio City Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Abra
• Cagayan Valley: Cagayan province, Isabela, and Nueva Vizcaya
• CALABARZON: Batangas and Quezon
• Puerto Princesa
• Iligan City
• Davao City
• Lanao del Sur

**Areas that were not mentioned are placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

For the NCR Plus, the heightened restrictions are as follows and will be in effect until the end of the month:

• Only those between ages of 18 and 65 are allowed to leave their homes.
• Only essential travel in and out of NCR Plus is allowed.
• Public transportation will be available at certain capacities set by the Department of Transportation.
• Restaurants must follow the following breakdown when entertaining dine-in customers: 20% capacity for indoor dining, 50% capacity for alfresco or outdoor seating.
• Tourist sites are allowed to accommodate up to 30% of their capacity.
• Only 10% capacity is allowed for religious gatherings, necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals.
• Non-contact sports, games, and scrimmages held outdoors are allowed.
• Establishments that offer personal care that do not require the removal of masks including salons, parlors, and beauty clinics, are allowed up to 30% capacity.

DOH Updates

As of May 14, 2021, 4:00 PM COVID-19 Update, the Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,053,523 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 6,784 of which are new cases, bringing the number of active cases to 58,986. There are 2,972 people who recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries to 1,131,467. However, 137 more died, increasing the local death toll to 18,958.

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