The Philippines government announced Tuesday that it will extend its Enhanced Community Quarantine measures in Metro Manila and other high risk areas for another two weeks until 31 May, however the measures will be slightly modified as the nation begins the long road back to economic recovery.
According to details released by the Presidential Palace, Modified ECQ (MECQ) will now apply to Manila, Laguna and Cebu City, allowing for limited transport services for essential goods and services to resume as well as certain manufacturing and processing plants.
Inside Asian Gaming understands gaming operations will remain suspended in MECQ areas, with Okada Manila announcing Tuesday that it has postponed the announcement of its 1Q20 results. All Manila casinos have been closed since 15 March.
Explaining the new MECQ measures, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, “It is not ECQ as we know it. It is not GCQ (general community quarantine) as we know it. It’s somewhere in between. It is a transition phase … we envision that after one month, we will all transition to GCQ.”
The implementation of MECQ comes after Manila mayors had pushed for the ECQ to be extended amid concerns that COVID-19 is far from under control in the nation’s capital.
According to state-run Philippine News Agency, the more relaxed GCQ has been in place in low and moderate risk areas of the country since 1 May. There are currently 11,086 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
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