Galvez: Gov't unable to endure extended ECQ

National Task Force COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., said the government can no longer afford to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to limited resources.

“In the absence of a vaccine, all we can do is prevent and contain it and mitigate its impact. The government, however, cannot endure the ECQ for an extended period of time, as its resources are very limited,” Galvez said.

Galvez also said the government could not yet determine the fate of the ECQ on May 15, as he emphasized that they are trying to balance the health risks with the economic effects of the pandemic.

Galvez presented to President Rodrigo Duterte the general concepts that will be undertaken should the government decide to shift from ECQ to general community quarantine (GCQ).

He said they are trying to determine how the concepts will work with the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and on how to protect the economic gains should GCQ be imposed, among others.

The government has placed Metro Manila, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Albay and Catanduanes under ECQ.

The ECQ will end on May 15.