at 50% of its workforce. all metro manila mayors agree to recommend the region to shift to gcq by june 1, while the local chief executives may still implement localized lockdowns only on places with high covid-19 cases. august 2020 – second ecq with hospitals almost reaching full capacity, the medical frontliners and the healthcare sector called for a two-week lockdown for metro manila and 4 neighboring provinces: bulacan, cavite, laguna, and rizal. this is meant to curb the rising cases and to avoid overwhelming hospitals. for two weeks, from august 3–18, metro manila and the four provinces were reverted to stricter lockdown. october–november 2020 on october 14, seven out of the 127 hospitals in metro manila remained at full capacity. the bed occupancy for the region was 52.4 percent, down by 0.2 percent from october 6 which was at 52.6 percent. cases in metro manila continues to decline as the region starts to reopen the economy and transportation. december 2020 during the holiday season, most laboratories were closed or in a limited testing capacity that caused the cases to drop. on december 22, a woman who arrived in hong kong from manila tested for covid-19 with her samples showing the presence of the sars-cov-2 variant lineage b.1.1.7. 2021 january–february 2021 the food and drug administration (fda) issued emergency use authorizations (eua) to the pfizer–biontech covid-19 vaccine and the oxford–astrazeneca covid-19 vaccine on january 14 and 28, respectively. on february 19, the iatf-eid recommended the transition of metro manila from gcq to the lowest tier of quarantine measures, the mgcq, in march to help recover the country's economy. the recommendation was approved by a majority of metro manila mayors. however, on february 23, president rodrigo duterte announced that there would not be a country-wide mgcq without the access of the general public to covid-19 vaccines. march 2021 – third ecq as both south african and uk variants have been found in metro manila, cities within the region saw a sudden increase on infections. the reimplementation of curfews was put into effect. special lockdowns have also been set in places that reported a sudden increase of cases. on march 22, a bubble was initiated on the parts of metro manila and surrounding regions later to be called ncr+ bubble to further prevent the spread, checkpoints have been also been reimplemented for those leaving metro manila and the bubble itself and all internet cafe's, spa's, gym's were ordered to once again close their businesses down to prevent further infections. all cities in metro manila has reported either one or two variants in their respective cities. a re-implementation of the enhanced community quarantine was announced on a press conference on march 27 which was to take effect on march 29 12:01 am but with minor adjustments such as the earlier curfew implementation from 6 pm-5 am the next day and that public transportation will still be available at a more limited capacity. august 2021 – fourth ecq from august 7 to 20, metro manila was again placed on a two-week ecq amidst the rising cases due to the delta variant. it was downgraded to mecq for august 21–31. september 2021 - shift to alert level system the region was shifted to the new alert level system on september 15, 2021, starting with alert level 4. alert level 1 is currently imposed in the region since march 1, 2022. under this classification, there are no restrictions in indoor and outdoor capacities of activities and all establishments, persons, or activities are allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at total on-site or venue seating capacity, given that health standards should be observed. "face-to-face" classes for basic education are subject to the approval of the office of the president. the department of health earlier stated that alert level 1 could be considered as the "new normal." previously, alert level 3 was imposed in the region from october 15 to november 4, 2021, and again from january 3 to 31, 2022 (amidst the covid-19 omicron variant-driven surge), and alert level 2 from november 5, 2021, to january 2, 2022, and from february 1 to 28, 2022. national response grounded pal planes due to halted operations during the lockdown. before the partial lockdown on metro manila declared on march 12, president rodrigo duterte had initially suspended classes across all levels in metro manila from march 10 to 14 upon reaching a consensus with the metro manila council (the mayors of metro manila) due to the rapidly increasing number of cases, especially in the area. on march 12, president duterte announced a partial lockdown covering metro manila, that begun on march 15 and will last until april 14. under the partial lockdown: the region is closed to land, air, and sea travel. however, mass transportation within metro manila such as the manila lrt and mrt continues to operate under proper social distancing guidelines. suspension of classes at all levels in metro manila is extended until april 14. spontaneous and planned mass gatherings are banned. work in the executive department is suspended under the lockdown period. the department of labor and employment encourages employers in the private sector to arrange "flexible work arrangements". following the declaration of the partial lockdown, the metropolitan manila development authority (mmda) suspended the enforcement of the unified vehicular volume reduction program, more commonly known as the number coding scheme. the metro manila council unanimously approved the imposition of the curfew in a joint resolution. all local governments, except for marikina and pateros, had adopted ordinances imposing the curfew in their respective cities, effective by march 20. in that joint resolution, the council also ordered the closure of shopping malls and other establishments during the lockdown. a total of 56 checkpoints were set up to man the borders of metro manila on the first day of the partial lockdown. at 12 midnight, a total of 26,000 police and military personnel were deployed to contain the pandemic of covid-19 in the region. motorists were stopped randomly and asked for their identification along the borders in north luzon expressway, macarthur highway, and the national road (maharlika highway). some checkpoints lacked thermal scanners. following the moratorium on mass public transportation during the enhanced community quarantine, vice president leni robredo launched free shuttle bus services for those individuals exempted from the quarantine, specifically health professionals, front line government officials, and essential service providers. robredo's shuttle services travel five routes around metro manila, connecting the major hospitals. to address concerns regarding the hoarding and panic buying of essential goods, some city governments issued ordinances to limit the amount of such goods an individual or establishment could purchase. the department of health has on march 20, 2020, has announced that it has designated three health facilities as covid-19 referral hospitals namely the up-philippine general hospital (up-pgh) in manila, the dr. jose m. rodriguez memorial hospital and sanitarium in caloocan and the lung center of the philippines in quezon city. the up-pgh has stopped admitting non-emergency cases and the lung center has dedicated one of its wings of 40 beds for covid-19 patients. the philippine blood center likewise will not admit any suspected covid-19 cases with the health department encouraging the public to continue donating blood for covid-19 patients with critical and severe conditions. the national government announced on march 25 a cash aid for poor families affected by the pandemic in the region amounting to ₱8,000 of monthly subsidy over two months as part of the ₱200 billion cash assistance program under the bayanihan to heal as one act signed by president duterte. vice president robredo converted a dormitory in cubao, quezon city, to provide free accommodations for front line health professionals during the enhanced community quarantine. on march 26, the department of agriculture launched its first mobile farmers' market in the region, the kadiwa on wheels, in quezon city, to ensure enough food supply amid the closure of most retail establishments due to the region-wide quarantine. the ninoy aquino stadium in malate, manila, reconfigured for use as a quarantine facility. various facilities in the metropolis are being prepared as quarantine sites for less serious covid-19 cases. among these are the philippine international convention center, the rizal memorial sports complex, and the world trade center will be fully refurbish by april 12. the three facilities alone can accommodate around 2,000 covid-19 patients. other non-hospital facilities being considered as possible quarantine sites include the philsports complex, duty free philippines in parañaque, amoranto stadium, and the quezon memorial circle. local response on march 12, the metro manila council reached a consensus to implement city-wide curfews from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day to be observed during the enhanced community quarantine, during which only "essential movements" for the purchase of essential needs or in cases of emergency are permitted during those hours. commercial establishments are mandated to suspend operations before the start of the curfew at 8 p.m. all local governments in metro manila have signed into effect ordinances to implement the curfew. the governments of las piñas, muntinlupa, navotas, and parañaque, however, have since issued ordinances extending the implementation of the curfew to a full 24 hours. on april 2, iatf-eid chairman and cabinet secretary karlo nograles urged the local governments of luzon to require residents to wear face masks, face shields, or any improvised alternatives while out in public for the duration of the enhanced community quarantine. in response, the mayors of malabon, mandaluyong, muntinlupa, parañaque, pasay, quezon city, and valenzuela, each issued ordinances to implement the measure within their respective jurisdictions. caloocan caloocan mayor oscar malapitan announced on march 10 the suspension of several scheduled events in the city: the miss caloocan pageant, mega job fairs, city development council general assembly, outstanding citizens awards night, and family day activities, to prevent the spread of the virus among large crowds. on march 24, the city announced that it would impose window hours on residents for the purchase of essential goods. residents could only access the city's public markets between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., while supermarkets, banks, and pharmacies can only be accessed between 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. the city would also issue quarantine passes, permitting only one resident per household between the ages of 18 to 60 years old to leave their house solely for purchasing such goods. las piñas las piñas mayor imelda aguilar declared a state of calamity in the city on march 14 after a resident was confirmed to have tested positive for covid-19, and on march 21, the las piñas government began implementing a 24-hour curfew on its residents. aguilar has urged lessors to extend rental fees on commercial establishments for at least a month, and also warned suppliers, retailers, and store owners against profiteering from the crisis by overpricing or hoarding essential goods. as of april 2, the las piñas government reports that more than 75,000 food packages have been distributed to the city's households. mayor aguilar urged residents who have yet to receive their packages to contact their barangay hall. the las piñas government has announced plans to convert a 100-bed drug rehabilitation center in the city into an isolation facility for its residents suspected or confirmed to have covid-19. makati confirmed cases in makati by barangay (november 13, 2020) 500–999 100–499 50–99 10–49 1–9 in response to the confirmation of residents of the rockwell center contracting covid-19, makati mayor abigail binay placed the city under a state of calamity on march 15. binay also assured city hall employees that they would continue to receive their salaries amid the enhanced community quarantine. on march 17, the makati government launched free shuttle bus services for doctors, nurses, and other employees of the ospital ng makati, which runs between the hospital and certain points in the city. in addition, mayor binay announced that tricycle drivers affected by the moratorium would receive an initial ₱2,000 (us$39.23) financial assistance to cover the first two weeks of the quarantine. binay added that a similar financial compensation would be given to jeepney drivers of the city. that same day, the makati government also announced plans to purchase 5,000 covid-19 test kits from the national institutes of health. the makati friendship suites on march 25 was converted into an isolation facility by