Laguna will be under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 15, while other parts of the Calabarzon region will be under the less strict modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) or general community quarantine with heightened restrictions.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Thursday, August 5, that President Rodrigo Duterte approved the decision of the national government’s pandemic task force to impose these new restrictions.

The new quarantine classifications are as follows:

ECQ from August 6 to 15

• Laguna
• Iloilo City
• Cagayan de Oro City

MECQ from August 6 to 15

• Cavite
• Lucena City in Quezon
• Rizal
• Iloilo province

GCQ with heightened restrictions from August 6 to 15

• Batangas
• Quezon

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The decision comes after fears that the entire Calabarzon would be placed on lockdown or ECQ. Metro Manila, adjacent to Calabarzon, will be under ECQ from August 6 to 20.

It is not immediately clear why the new restrictions applied to various parts of Calabarzon will last for 10 days only, or until August 15, when Metro Manila’s lockdown status will stretch until August 20.

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Also beginning Sunday, August 8, Gingoog City will be placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions, aligning with the quarantine classification of its mother province, Misamis Oriental, Roque added.

Lockdowns returned to the capital region and other parts of the country as as the nation braces for more COVID-19 cases possibly driven by the feared Delta variant.

ECQ is the strictest quarantine mode enforced by the government and is tantamount to a lockdown due to mobility restrictions in and out of the geographic area where it is implemented.

A lockdown in Calabarzon, another economic hub, deals another harsh blow to the country’s economy. – Rappler.com