Metro Manila mayors have agreed to implement a unified curfew in the National Capital Region starting Monday, March 15, to curb the spread of COVID-19, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos confirmed Thursday.

Abalos said local chief executives agreed on imposing a 2-week curfew hour from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The development came as the country logged a record-high daily rise of 3,749, the first since September last year.

The Department of Health (DOH), meanwhile, said it sees no need to implement a stricter community quarantine in the country amid rising cases of COVID-19.

The DOH said that local government units have already prepared for this and following health standards and local lockdowns will do for now.

“For now, we are not contemplating this regionwide ECQ. If you observe, this is not the only measure we can implement. When we had a meeting with the mayors, it was agreed on that there will be localized responses, these will be intensive responses—barangays, sitios, increased visibility of enforcers,” DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

The health official added that the rise in cases is not only due to the new COVID-19 variants.

“A lot of people in their minds would say it’s the variant. But we need to understand, our health protocols are (number 1) in our response. If we become complacent, cases will rise. Variant detection is just an aggravating factor,” she said.

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