As observers have predicted, the Philippines has decided to throw caution to the wind and put an end to Manila’s Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the capital will revert to a more lenient General Community Quarantine (GCQ) between August 19 and August 31, leading some to think casinos could soon reopen.

This is not because the number of infections has improved. Recently labeled “The land of COVID-19” by Thai news outlets, the Philippines continues to see a high rate of new infections. The country saw no improvement at all during its time in a modified ECQ, averaging more than 3,000 new cases per day.

But the economy just can’t stand another day in quarantine, the government argues. Before the decision was announced, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque teased that relaxed lockdowns were coming. “The bottom line is we no longer have resources to give assistance,” he said.

The Octa group of experts, who cautioned against ending ECQ, now estimate that the country will soon see a total of 230,000 cases, a significant increase from the current number of 164,474. Mind you, both of these numbers are accounted for with a lack of testing.