Nograles said the President accepted the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to extend the Luzon-wide quarantine until 11:59 p.m. of April 30.
Duterte earlier announced he was inclined to extend the Luzon-wide quarantine to April 30.
“Provided, that all exemptions granted by the Office of the President or the IATF shall continue to be in effect for the duration of the extended ECQ,” said Nograles, citing the resolution passed by the IATF on Monday.
“Provided further that such extension of the ECQ shall be without prejudice to the discretion of the President to relax the implementation of the ECQ in some local jurisdictions, or the granting of exemptions in favor of certain sectors, as public health considerations and food security may warrant.”
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Nograles said an extension is necessary in order for the government to determine the impact of the ECQ and further increase health capacity in Luzon and other areas, including ramping up COVID-19 testing to 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day with a turnaround time of 24 hours.
Asked if the ECQ will be expanded to Visayas and Mindanao, Nograles said, “We will continue to monitor Visayas and Mindanao. But they are not obliged or under ECQ.”
"Right now, wala pang need," he said.
The Philippines has recorded 5,453 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest number in Southeast Asia followed by Malaysia which reported 5,072 cases on Wednesday.
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