MANILA – Instead of being downgraded to modified general community quarantine, Metro Manila may return to “stricter” community quarantine by July 16, the Malacañang said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said yesterday that it could happen if hospitals in the capital city hit capacity due to a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
“We go back to stricter quarantine or provide more facilities,” Roque said in an online media forum yesterday when asked about the government’s possible action in case of strained hospital capacity.
The Department of Health (DOH), for its part, said that state hospitals in Metro Manila are not yet overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases but are in “moderate risk level.”
It added that reports of hospital claims of reaching full capacity of COVID-19 patients should be taken with a grain of salt since not all of them have complied with the DOH’s requirement that 30% of bed capacity should be allocated for COVID-19 patients.
Based on DOH data as of June 30, Metro Manila’s critical care and isolation bed utilization were at 62.18%, while the doubling time for COVID-19 cases was 8.19 days.
The National Capital Region has been under general community quarantine since June, which entailed easing of restrictions on public transport and businesses in a bid to move the economy forward.
Prior to that, it was under the enhanced community quarantine—the most restrictive form of lockdown—for more than two months./PN
