Coronavirus 101: Acronyms used in PH

WITH the increasing R0 (pronounced naught) of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the World Health Organization officially declared a global pandemic. The Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) then recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to place much of the country under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which he did almost four months ago and still counting. At present, Cebu City has reverted to this status, while the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) and some areas in Region 4A (Calabarzon) are now classified as general community quarantine (GCQ) areas, with the rest of the nation as modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

R0 is the reproduction figure of the virus that has the scientific nomenclature of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. In response to this health emergency, the IATF-EID took the helm in defining the guidelines and classifying the quarantine statuses of the country’s regions and cities from the strictest, which is ECQ to GCQ. A modified classification, e.g. MGCQ, refers to less severe measures, but strict nonetheless.