Negros Occ. under GCQ, Bacolod under GCQ-HR Sept. 8 to 30

The National Capital Region will ease to a general community quarantine (GCQ) from Sept. 8 to 30 as it is set to pilot test localized lockdowns, Malacañang said today.

However, the COVID-19 Inter- Agency Task Force has yet to provide guidelines on the so-called granular lockdown, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Roque said Duterte approved granular lockdown “in principle.”

The task force will make the recommendation to Duterte, who has the final say.

The Department of Health (DOH) believes granular lockdowns are the way to go since widespread restrictions no longer seem to work against stopping the spread of cases, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said today.

“Nakita natin na yung big or province-wide restrictions, mukhang hindi na effective sa ginagawa nating response because mobility is there already,” she said in a media briefing.

Vergeire believes locking down specific areas with a spike in COVID-19 cases would be more effective in active case finding and isolating those who are infected.

DOH reported that the entire capital region, except for the City of Manila, is under Alert Level 4 due to the continuous rise in COVID-19 infections and hospital bed utilization.

NEGROS, BACOLOD, OTHER AREAS

Here are the latest community quarantine classifications for other parts of the country:

Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine:

Apayao, Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Lucena City, Rizal, Laguna, Iloilo Province, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City.

General Community Quarantine (with heightened restrictions):

Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Quezon, Batangas, Naga City, Antique;

Bacolod City, Capiz City, Cebu Province, Lapu-Lapu City, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Butuan City.

General Community Quarantine:

Baguio City, Kalinga, Abra, Benguet, Dagupan City, City of Santiago, Quirino, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Occidental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa, Aklan, Guimaras;

Negros Occidental, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Iligan City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Gen. Santos City, Sulatan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country will be placed under modified GCQ.* (With report from CNN Philippines)