Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday said general community quarantine (GCQ) may remain in Metro Manila after June 15.

In a TV interview, Año said the government cannot relax for now as “fresh” or “new” coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases are still being recorded in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Fresh cases means the test results were released to patients within the last three days.

“Overall it is still not on downtrend (position)… there are still recorded fresh or new cases… For me, still 50-50 but most likely it will still remain under GCQ,” he said.

“If we are going to relax it now, we might trip… there might be more cases if we ease more,” he added.

Año said the Interagency Task Force is still analyzing the data and the Metro Manila Council is set to meet on Saturday to discuss their recommendations.

“Right now, we are still analyzing the data. We have an initial recommendation but we need to consult also the local chief executives,” Año said.

Aside from Metro Manila, the national government is also monitoring the situation in other regions and provinces which are also under GCQ.

For those who are under modified GCQ or MGCQ, Año in a separate radio interview said the “new normal” situation may only start by July.

He said due to fresh COVID-19 cases, no areas are ready to shift to new normal.

"If you downgrade to MGCQ, it will be the new normal. We think for the whole month of June, no areas are ready for new normal because you need further study on it because the areas around them still recorded new cases,” Año said.

"So, maybe some areas will graduate from MGCQ and be under new normal by July,” Año added.

New normal is the next phase after MGCQ where new practices and minimum health standards must be observed by the public while there is still no COVID-19 vaccine yet.

Malacanang said President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to meet members of the IATF on Monday to decide on the possible new classification of the various places in the country after June 15.

Thursday's data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is at 24,175 where 253 from it were fresh cases. Ella Dionisio/DMS