MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has approved placing the capital region and four adjacent provinces under a less restrictive community quarantine status from April 12, his spokesman said on Sunday.
Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite, which have been in a strict lockdown due to Covid-19 infections, will be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine status until April 30, spokesman Harry Roque said.
Private and public hospitals have added 3,156 beds for Covid-19 patients, he said.
Metro Manila and the four surrounding provinces were placed under enhanced community quarantine, the nation’s most stringent movement restriction, for two weeks through April 11 as a record surge in cases filled some hospitals and left others operating at near capacity.
Under the less restrictive curbs, people are still required to stay home but more businesses will be allowed to operate, while limits on those that have remained open will be eased, according to government guidelines.
Other areas that have also been placed under the modified quarantine are Santiago City in Isabela and the provinces of Quirino and Abra, Roque said. Other provinces are subject to less restrictive measures.
The Philippines has reported 864,868 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 14,945 deaths.