PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Friday, July 31, announced that the rest of the country, except for several areas, will remain under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
The National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Cebu City, Lapu Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Zamboanga City are placed under GCQ.
This also means that Davao City and the rest of Davao Region remain to be under MGCQ starting August 1.
On the brighter side of things, this means that businesses in the region are able to operate at the allowable maximum limit they can operate. For example, restaurants can continue to offer dine-in services to up to 50 percent of their capacity.
This also means some businesses are allowed to resume operations like personal-care services.
With businesses being allowed to resume, this will allow the economy to get back on its feet.
Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio said during her interview on the Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) that the city will be lifting the implementation of the curfew and the food and medicine passes (FM Pass).
The mayor urged Dabawenyos to self regulate with the lifting of movement restrictions. There is a huge possibility that the Covid-19 cases will spike with the lifting of these restrictions. Therefore, the discipline of the residents plays an important role in ensuring that the cases in the city or the region are controlled.
Residents of Davao City must ensure that they wear a facemask when leaving their home or when at work; observe physical distancing wherever they are; regularly wash their hands with soap and water; disinfecting regularly touched surfaces.
Duterte-Carpio continues to urge Dabawenyos to only go out of their homes to do essential matters like buying food or for work.
“We want our city to remain open despite that there is a pandemic. Ang key dinha is mga tao," she said.
While MGCQ allows more movement of people but we should be reminded that the “Q” stands for “quarantine.” The threat of the virus is still there. The best way we can help the medical personnel and the government is by following the health safety measures.