Defense Chief Says Metro Manila Is “Ready” For GCQ Amid Spike In Cases
READY FOR GCQ – Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana said Metro Manila is ready to be reverted back into a GCQ.
According to the Defense Secretary, Metro Manila has seen a massive decrease in cases. As such, after the two-week “time out”, he stated that Manila would be ready to lower their restriction. Based on an article from ABS-CBN, the Defense Chief said:
“We cannot continue with the MECQ kasi nga alam na natin kung nasaan iyong areas na may infection. Iyon ang tutukan natin so that the others can go to work“.
Earlier in the month, the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines exploded to over 6,000. This made the country into the new coronavirus hotspot in South East Asia (SEA), surpassing Indonesia for the most number of cases.
However, the Philippines recently reported around 3,000 cases of COVID-19 infections. Compared to the 6,000 daily cases, Lorenzana saw this as an opportunity to downgrade the protocol. As per the article, Lorenzana suggested that authorities could identify and lockdown streets and villages instead of locking down entire cities.
“Hindi puwedeng lockdown na lang tayo nang lockdown dahil baka mas maraming mamatay sa gutom kaysa sa COVID kung walang trabaho ang mga tao“.
Currently, the government imposed a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine on Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces. The government made the call after the medical community called for a “time out”.
However, Malacañang emphasized that President Duterte did not make the decision due to pressure from the community. Instead, the palace noted that the President merely listened to the suggestions made.
Thanks for reading. We aim to provide our readers with the freshest and most in-demand content. Come back next time for the latest news here on Philnews.