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The Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 (IATF) on Wednesday approved the shift of Metro Manila to a looser quarantine level starting this weekend.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the capital region will be under Alert Level 3 from Oct. 16 to 31, down from the Alert Level 4 first imposed on Sept. 16.

Earlier some business groups urged government to downgrade Metro Manila’s alert level due to rising vaccination rates and lower cases of COVID-19.

The inter-agency task force also approved the following quarantine classifications for other areas, Roque said.

MODIFIED ENHANCED COMMUNITY QUARANTINE
Luzon

• Apayao
• Kalinga
• Batanes
• Bulacan
• Bataan
• Cavite
• Rizal
• Laguna
• Naga City

Mindanao

• Zamboanga City
• Zamboanga del Norte

GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE WITH HEIGHTENED RESTRICTIONS 
Luzon

• Abra
• Baguio City
• Ilocos Sur
• Pangasinan
• Cagayan
• Isabela
• City of Santiago
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Quezon
• Batangas

Visayas

• Bacolod City
• Capiz
• Lapu-Lapu City
• Negros Oriental
• Bohol

Mindanao

• Zamboanga del Sur
• Misamis Oriental
• Cagayan de Oro City
• Davao del Norte
• Davao Occidental
• Davao de Oro
• Butuan City
• Surigao del Sur

GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE

Luzon 

• Ilocos Norte
• Dagupan City
• Ifugao
• Benguet
• Tarlac
• Lucena City
• Occidental Mindoro
• Oriental Mindoro
• Puerto Princesa
• Marinduque
• Albay
• Camarines Norte

Visayas

• Aklan
• Antique
• Guimaras
• Negros Occidental
• Iloilo City
• Iloilo Province
• Cebu City
• Cebu Province
• Mandaue City
• Siquijor
• Tacloban City

Mindanao

• Zamboanga Sibugay
• Misamis Occidental
• Iligan City
• Davao City
• Davao Oriental
• Davao del Sur
• General Santos City
• Sultan Kudarat
• Sarangani
• North Cotabato
• South Cotabato
• Agusan del Norte
• Agusan del Sur
• Surigao del Norte
• Dinagat Islands
• Cotabato City
• Lanao del Sur

All other areas shall be placed under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

“This latest risk-level classification shall take effect beginning October 16, 2021 until October 31, 2021,” added Roque.

Fighting one of Asia’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks, the Philippines has tallied some 2.6 million overall infections and at least 39,896 deaths.

At least 23.5 million of the country’s 109 million people were fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday.