The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) disclosed its projections on what the Philippine economy could lose for each week that Metro Manila and other areas are under strict lockdown.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a statement that the return of enhanced community quarantine in the capital region and other areas will result in a production loss of around P150 billion per week.

Chua said the lockdown will affect “more than 600 thousand workers and will increase the number of the poor by about 250,000.”

Last July, the NEDA chief projected that P105 billion will be lost under the hard lockdown.

ECQ limits movements to only authorized individuals and essentials and further reduces operational capacity of transport and businesses, resulting in losses in earnings and jobs.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the implementation of ECQ after health experts called for the strictest quarantine level due to the threat of the Delta variant in the Philippines, especially in the National Capital Region.

Metro Manila, home to at least 13 million people, is under ECQ from Aug. 6 to 20.

Aside from the NCR, ECQ is also enforced in Laguna, Cagayan De Oro, and Iloilo City until Aug. 15.