The National Capital Region (NCR) and 4 other provinces have been placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions starting Friday, July 23 until the end of the month.
Aside from Metro Manila, the areas of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Davao de Oro, and Davao del Norte are also placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
The decision was reached following a meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Thursday.
Under the said restrictions, children five years old to 17 will not be allowed to go out of their homes.
The announcement came a day after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the local transmission of the highly contagious and more transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant in the country.
Metro Manila was previously under GCQ, while Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur were previously under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) supposedly until July 31, 2021.
Meanwhile, Davao de Oro and Davao del Norte were previously under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
So far, the Philippines has recorded 47 Delta variant cases.
