Malacañang hopes that by April 12, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal can be downgraded to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status.
It will be recalled that on Saturday, the Palace announced the extension of enhanced community quarantine – the highest of the 4 lockdown levels in the country – in such areas, dubbed “NCR (National Capital Region) Plus” due to the alarming increase in COVID cases.
“I don’t think ECQ for a third week is actually a possibility. Based on the model of DOH, what they recommended was 2 weeks of ECQ… to be followed by a week of MECQ,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
“We expect the numbers to go down by around 4,000 a day by May 15,” he added.
But according to the Department of Health, even before Metro Manila and neighboring provinces can finally have a MECQ, it is necessary to see that the hospitals loosen up and the strategies against COVID-19 improve.
“Maari lamang tayong makapag-shift sa mas mababang quarantine classification katulad ng MECQ kung makikita na po natin na mas umaayos na po ang ating health system at mayroon na tayong agarang detection at isolation,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
‘NCR Plus’ may shift to MECQ when condition of hospitals improves
To reach the MECQ, health care utilization must first drop by up to 60 percent, which currently plays out at 78 to 80 percent in Metro Manila.
Utilization for intensive care unit beds reaches 100 percent in some areas, such as San Juan.
“What would be most important really would be for us to look at the health care utilization. The health system should be able to manage and should be able to breathe,” said Vergeire.
Instead of targeted lockdowns, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo is now proposing to have household lockdowns, which she said are more effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
That way, she said, the economy can remain open.
“For any household that would have 1 COVID-positive individual, what we can do is the entire household would be presumed COVID-positives,” said Quimbo.
“First isolate the COVID-positive individual… if it’s not feasible at home, that person can be taken to isolation facility. Meanwhile, the rest, while waiting for their test results, are presumed positive and will not be allowed to leave their house,” she said.