A PROPOSAL to place the National Capital Region and other Covid-19 high-risk areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) until December, or when the region has inoculated 40 percent of its population has been rejected by the Department of Health (DoH). Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante proposed that the GCQ extension will allow 40 percent of residents in Metro Manila and other high-risk areas to be fully inoculated. She added the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will still use science and evidence in deciding community quarantine protocols in the succeeding months. "Hindi ko po masabi ngayon kung hanggang December tayo magiging GCQ dahil marami pong implikasyon ang community quarantine restrictions na ito (I can't say it right now if we will place NCR in GCQ until December because the restrictions will have many implications)," she said. This will allow the country to move on from community quarantines and prevent an entire region from enforcing restrictions in areas with fewer Covid-19 cases, she said.

Source: Manila Times July 12, 2021 16:52 UTC