Luzon-wide community quarantine extended until April 30, 2020
Today, April 7, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced that the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon is extended until April 30. Prior to this, last night, President Rodrigo Duterte’s said the government is “inclined to extend the lockdown up to April 30.”
Luzon-wide community quarantine extended!
In a virtual briefing earlier today, Nograles said that the president accepted the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ recommendation to extend the ECQ in Luzon.
“Pagkatapos ng kanyang announcement ay vinerify po namin ulit at ang sagot po ay, ang enhanced community quarantine is hereby extended until 11:59pm of April 30,” Nograles confirmed.
He said there is no need to expand the lockdown to cover Visayas and Mindanao.
With this extension, over 57 million people living in Luzon, including Metro Manila, will continue to be under an enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month. The movement of people will still be severely restricted, with most only allowed to leave their homes for essential trips such as to buy food or medicine.
Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolutions
Moreover, Nograles said the IATF passed two resolutions on Monday night. In Resolution No. 20, the IATF formally recommended “the extension of the implementation of the [ECQ] in the entirety of Luzon up to April 30, 2020” to the Office of the President.
He added that the resolution noted that exemptions previously granted by the IATF and the Office of the President shall continue in the duration of the extended enhanced community quarantine.
“Such extension of the ECQ shall be without prejudice to the discretion of the president to relax that implementation of the ECQ in some local jurisdictions or the ranting of exemptions in favor of certain sectors such as public health considerations and food security may warrant,” he added.
As of this writing, the Health Department has recorded 3,660 cases of COVID-19, 163 deaths, and 73 recoveries.
