President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to extend the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, including Metro Manila, until April 30 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country.

"The enhanced community quarantine is up to April 30, 11:59pm. This was the recommendation of the IATF to President Duterte, which President Duterte accepted and he announced last night and after his announcement, we again verify and his answer was 'the enhanced community quarantine is hereby extended until 11:59pm of April 30," said IATF Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles in a virtual press briefing.

Prior to the extension, the ECQ was supposed to end on midnight of April 13.

Duterte, in a taped televised public message late Monday night, said he was inclined to extend the lockdown until April 30.

Under IATF Resolution No. 20 regarding the ECQ extension, Nograles said all exemptions granted by the Office of the President or the IATF shall continue to be in effect for the duration of the extended lockdown.

Such extension of the ECQ shall be without prejudice to the discretion of the President to relax the implementation of the ECQ in some local jurisdictions, or the granting of exemptions in favor of certain sectors, as public health considerations and food security may warrant, he added.

Nograles said the decision to prolong the lockdown was based on the studies of epidemiologists, scientists, mathematicians, and other experts that the effect of the ECQ on the COVID-19 cases could be seen after 14 days.

Thus, extending the ECQ would most likely give the experts of a clearer effect of the lockdown on the number of COVID-19 cases, he said.

He said during the extension period, the government could measure the "full effect" of the ECQ.

Meanwhile, Nograles said there was no need to expand the ECQ in Visayas and Mindanao.

He said the authorities are also monitoring those areas outside of Luzon.

But currently, some local government units have been implementing ECQ in their respective jurisdictions. Celerina Monte/DMS