Situation Overview

• On July 30, 2021, in a televised address, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced that Metro Manila and certain localities in Visayas and Mindanao will be placed under more restricted lockdown in August due to sudden increase of COVID-19 cases and to curb down the more contagious Delta variant.

• The more tightened “Enhanced Community Quarantine” (ECQ) protocols will be imposed starting August 6 until August 20, 2021 in National Capital Region. This includes the stay at home protocols to all except to individuals who work on industries that the Inter-Agency Task Force classified as “essential industries”, obtain essential supplies and seek assistance in an emergency, among others.

• The government has also placed multiple areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the second tightest classification until August 15. The following areas that are placed under MECQ include Cavite, Lucena City in Quezon, Rizal, and Iloilo Province. Under MECQ, key industries can work on-site with full capacity while secondary sectors like telecommunications can set-off only half of their workforce.

• Meanwhile, authorities have extended general community quarantine with heightened restrictions (GCQ-HR) in Batangas and Quezon. The said quarantine classification will last until August 15. Under the GCQ-HR restrictions, most workplaces and public places may operate but with strained limits than typical GCQ guidelines.

• The following quarantine classifications are subject to change according to the government.

• A day before the region’s hard lockdown, numerous vaccination sites across the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces were brawled with an unprecedented number of people desperate to receive a COVID-19 vaccine over fears that they won’t be able to leave their houses if they are unvaccinated which, according to the government, was fake news. In some areas, the turmoil has resulted in severe failure to observe minimum health protocols despite the rising cases of the more infectious COVID-19 Delta variant.

Source: www.officialgazette.gov.ph , Rappler
Affected Populations

• According to Department of Health as of August 5, 2021, there are 66, 895 confirmed active cases of COVID-19, 1,532,494 have already recovered and more than 127 new deaths were added to the tally. This raised the death toll due to the virus at 28,427. Quezon City remain the highest covid-19 cases with a total of 113,896 covid-19 cases.

• Moreover, the country has reported 216 cases of Delta variant cases, but according to health experts more could have gone undetected because of the slow pace of genome sequencing.

• An estimate 13 million people are affected by the imposition of lockdown measures in the National Capital Region. It is said to cost the country’s economy 4 billion dollars as people cannot leave their homes except for essential activities outdoors.

Source: Department of Health (DOH)

Emergency Response Efforts
• CDRC is closely monitoring the situation and monitor the Department of Health website for updated information about COVID-19.
• CDRC also monitor the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19 social media page for information and updates.
Resources Available
• Standby emergency funds
• Prepositioned goods at the CDRC warehouse
• Monetary and in-kind donations
Coordination
1. Department of Health
2. Philippines’ National Task Force Against COVID-19
Contacts
1. Hanna Fiel, Deputy Executive Director, 0945-8355589, hanna.fiel.cdrc2019@gmail.com
2. Cora Jazmines, Local Partnerships Department, 0928-182-4969, lpd@cdrc-phil.com