President Rodrigo Duterte announced Wednesday, April 28 the extension of the modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces until May 14. This comes after the recommendations of experts and the Department of Health (DOH) to keep the strict lockdown restrictions to help decongest hospitals and further lower the positivity rate in the ‘NCR Plus’ bubble which includes Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
In a prerecorded briefing, Duterte also said that Santiago City and Quirino Province in Region 2 and Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will likewise be placed under MECQ for the whole month of May.
Meanwhile, the following areas will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) from May 1 to May 31, 2021:
Cordillera Administrative Region
Apayao
Baguio City
Benguet
Ifugao
Kalinga
Mountain Province
Region 2
Cagayan
Isabela
Nueva Vizcaya
Region 4A
Batangas
Quezon
Region 8
Tacloban
Region 10
Iligan City
Region 11
Davao City
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
Lanao del Sur
The rest of the country or areas not mentioned, on the other hand, are placed under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
IATF Resolution No. 112
According to the Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) Resolution No. 112, the frontline workers of the Congress of the Philippines are now included in the A4 priority group of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program. In addition to this, the IATF also approves the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) request for 5,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate minimum wage earners and Overseas Filipino Workers in celebration of Labor Day on May 1.
The IATF is also prohibiting all travelers from India or those with a travel history going to India within the last 14 days to enter the country beginning April 29, 2021 to May 14, 2021.
Hybrid MECQ
Meanwhile, Metro Manila mayors agreed to shorten curfew hours to 10 PM to 4 AM starting May 1, 2021. More businesses will also be allowed to operate while keeping strict health protocols and border control.
As of April 28, 2021, the country recorded a total of 1,020,495 COVID-19 cases with 67,769 active cases and 17,031 deaths.
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