President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to extend the enhanced community quarantine in high-risk areas until May 15.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed Friday that the president approved the recommendations to further extend the ECQ due to the new coronavirus disease.

Among those areas are the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and the provinces of Pangasinan, Benguet and Albay, and the islands of Mindoro and Catanduanes.

The task force also recommended placing the islands of Cebu and Panay and the provinces of Davao Del Norte, as well as Davao City, under ECQ.

Provinces considered high-risk are:

Region III

Bataan

Bulacan

Nueva Ecija

Pampanga

Region IV-A

Batangas

Cavite

Laguna

Rizal

Quezon

Region IV-B

Oriental Mindoro

Occidental Mindoro

Region V

Albay

Catanduanes

Visayas

Aklan

Antique

Capiz

Cebu

Iloilo

Mindanao

Davao del Norte

The provinces considered high-risk will be under an enhanced community quarantine until May 15, subject to further evaluation.

The enhanced quarantine in Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales may change until April 30. Davao de Oro will also be under the strict quarantine but will also be subject to rechecking.

Moderate-risk areas will be under general community quarantine until May 15 but will also be subject to evaluation.

Meanwhile, low-risk areas will be placed under a less stringent "general community quarantine" until May 15. Thus would further be relaxed to "normalization" if there is no deterioration, the IATF said.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque yesterday said Duterte would consider whether or not the country's health system has established the minimum health standards for people along with its capacity to accommodate further increases in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

The decision would also be based on the geographic risk of outbreak, age and health risks, essential sectors, and public transport, Roque said.

'When it comes to the economy, we're looking at what sectors of it we can already open, the people who can begin going to work, and of course, where the people going to the work can commute,' Roque wrote in his statement.

On April 7, the chief executive approved extending the lockdown of mainland Luzon until April 30.

Luzon is entering its fifth week under the enhanced community quarantine.

On Thursday, the Department of Health recorded 271 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the national tally to 6,981.

The World Health Organization has warned that the global pandemic had a long way to go before it would be eradicated.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan