As the implementation of general community quarantine in some areas is set to lapse on June 15, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Wednesday said they are monitoring the increase of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City.

In a TV interview, Año said the National Action Plan (NAP) against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr is scheduled to visit Cebu City on Thursday to check the situation.

“We are looking now at Cebu City and other areas in Cebu because for the last seven days, there has been an increase on the number of cases… compared to NCR (National Capital Region), the number of cases is increasing rapidly,” he said.

“General Galvez will go to Cebu tomorrow to coordinate with the officials there including the regional IATF (interagency task force) and the local chief executives. They will talk about the developments in Cebu,” he added.

According to Cebu City health department, as of June 9, they recorded 106 new cases bringing their total COVID-19 cases to 2,988 with 1, 557 recoveries and 33 deaths.

As for the status of Metro Manila, Año said they are still 50-50 whether it will be placed under modified GCQ or extend the GCQ.

“There is also an increase in Manila but the situation is good... you know mayors here in Metro Manila, what they want is one classification only for the whole region… I think it’s still 50-50 since we are still waiting for the recommendation of the mayors on what they see on the ground. We will compare it with the data analytics then we can come up with a recommendation,” Año said.

While they are eyeing for localized lockdown, Año said the IATF has yet to make their recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte.

He said they will meet on Thursday to discuss what will be their recommendation.

All areas in the country were placed under modified GCQ since June 1, except for Pangasinan, Region 2, 3, 4A, 7, NCR and the municipality of Pateros, Zamboanga City, Davao City, Cebu City and Mandaue City, which were under GCQ until June 15. Ella Dionisio/DMS