THE province of Ifugao in Cordillera Administrative Region was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) while Puerto Princesa City in Palawan was added to areas under general community quarantine (GCQ), Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. announced on Friday, April 30, 2021.
He said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the appeal of local government officials for these new quarantine classifications.
Ifugao will be under MECQ from May 1 to 14, like the National Capital Region and provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
"They appealed. We looked at two-week daily attack raate and their hospitalization rate, and they met the cut," Roque said in a televised press briefing.
Areas under MECQ for the entire month of May are Santiago City in Isabela, and the provinces of Quirino and Abra.
Puerto Princesa will join the other areas under GCQ for May: Apayao, Benguet including Baguio City, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Quezon, Lanao del Sur and the cities of Tacloban, Davao and Iligan.
The rest of the country will be under modified general community quarantine, the most relaxed form of community quarantine.
Non-essential travel and businesses are prohibited in MECQ areas, although the IATF has allowed dine-in services of up to 10 percent of capacity and personal care services of up to 30 percent of capacity.
In GCQ areas, leisure businesses are allowed but at a limited capacity. (SunStar Philippines)