MANILA, (PIA) -- The Metro Manila Council (MMC) is set to decide today, July 14, the quarantine status for the National Capital Region (NCR) that will be effective from July 16 onwards, which it will be recommending to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Concurrent MMC Chairperson and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Benhur Abalos will announce the decision of the Metro Manila mayors on the next quarantine status for the NCR.

Olivarez said even if the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the metropolis are decreasing, Metro mayors still “cannot afford to let their guards down.”

“There’s been a decrease in the numbers but that doesn’t mean we should relax. Strict compliance with the health protocols is still needed," Olivarez said.

Metro Manila is currently under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with certain restriction until July 15.

The OCTA research group reported that the reproduction number in NCR was recorded at 0.93 over the same period. A reproduction number of one or higher is an indication of the continuous transmission of the virus.

The group also revealed that the average number of new COVID-19 cases in NCR from July 6 to July 12 was two percent lower than the previous week. (PIA-NCR)