Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, who is also the chairman of the Metro Manila Council (MMC), pushed for the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.
The government declared an extension of ECQ in Metro Manila until May 15 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Olivarez said other local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila also wanted to extend the ECQ to prevent the “gamble into downgrading to general community quarantine,” once the ECQ ends.
“When ECQ will be lifted, everything is back to normal. There is still a big possibility that COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) may spread,” Olivarez said.
The MMC makes the policy for the Metro Manila Development Authority or MMDA.
Olivarez said Metro Manila has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, taking 6,000 of the 10,000 cases nationwide.
Malacañang Palace earlier said LGUs had asked the government to keep some areas under ECQ.
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday that only some cities in Metro Manila would be placed under GCQ after May 15.
“There are areas already in Metro Manila that are actually improving like San Juan and Valenzuela, but Quezon City is still really what we call a very high-risk area with the 1,000 positive,” Año said on ANC.
“Some cities in Metro Manila may be downgraded into GCQ, but we still have eight days to go, so we wait for data analytics,” he added.
Mayor Olivarez meanwhile said he has no plans of putting Parañaque under hard lockdown even though the city has reported 499 confirmed cases and 38 deaths as of May 6.
He said hard lockdown is “not the proper solution to the pandemic as long as the patient is still staying in the area.”
Also read: No more sales, free wifi under mall operations guidelines during GCQ
Metro Manila COVID-19 Cases as of May 6
| Total | Active Cases | Deaths | Recoveries | |
| Caloocan | 236 | 187 | 22 | 27 |
| Las Piñas | 201 | 149 | 11 | 41 |
| Makati | 472 | 332 | 25 | 115 |
| Malabon | 58 | 49 | 3 | 6 |
| Mandaluyong | 404 | 324 | 32 | 48 |
| Manila | 749 | 557 | 60 | 132 |
| Marikina | 135 | 81 | 18 | 36 |
| Muntinlupa | 176 | 138 | 13 | 25 |
| Navotas | 39 | 34 | 5 | 0 |
| Parañaque | 499 | 373 | 38 | 88 |
| Pasig | 307 | 205 | 44 | 8 |
| Pasay | 227 | 190 | 13 | 24 |
| Pateros | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 |
| Quezon City | 1,457 | 1,039 | 118 | 300 |
| San Juan | 243 | 144 | 32 | 67 |
| Taguig | 283 | 221 | 12 | 50 |
| Valenzuela | 108 | 88 | 7 | 13 |
Source: http://www.doh.gov.ph/2019-nCoV
As of May 7, Department of Health reported 339 new cases and 27 new deaths, bringing the total to 10, 343 confirmed cases, and 685 deaths. It also reported 112 new recoveries.