More than 9,000 police officers will be posted in over 1,000 quarantine control checkpoints spread out across Metro Manila and nearby provinces as these areas were placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) starting Monday, March 29, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the checkpoints would go up in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
A quarter of the 9,356 police assigned to checkpoints will be in Metro Manila, the PNP said.
The Palace announced Saturday that Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal would be placed under an ECQ from March 29 to April 4 as new COVID-19 cases shot to record highs.
Curfew during this period runs from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Public utility vehicles will be allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity during ECQ, the Department of Transportation said Sunday.
PUVs cover public utility bus, UV Express Service, public utility jeepneys, shuttle service, tricycle, taxis and transport network vehicle services (TNVS).
International inbound passenger capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport shall remain at a maximum of 1,500 passengers per day while domestic commercial operations shall be allowed subject to the requirements or restrictions set by local government units outside of the NCR Plus bubble.
Maritime transport shall continue but only at 50 percent capacity.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield Commander Police Lt. Gen. Cesar Binag said police personnel in all 1,106 checkpoints will be flagging motorists or travelers starting later at midnight or 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 29.
Essential workers need only show their company ID and travel passes will not be required, said Ret. Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesman of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.
“We will be compassionate for those on their way home. But there will only be a window for that. We will be strict from 7:30 to 8 p.m.,” he said in Filipino.
“This strict measure is so we can lessen the time of interaction among many people, because we know this is when virus transmission happens,” he added.
The Philippines logged 9,475 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing the total number of infected to 721,892, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
This marks the third straight day when more than 9,000 new infections were reported.
The DOH reported 11 new fatalities, bringing the death toll from COVID-19 to 13,170, which is 1.82 percent of the total number of cases.
The DOH also reported 22,000 recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 603,154, which is 83.6 percent of the total number of cases.
This left 105,568 active cases, which is 14.6 percent of the total number of cases. Of the active cases, 95.5 percent are mild; 2.5 percent are asymptomatic; 0.7 percent are critical; 0.8 percent are severe; and 0.43 percent are moderate.
The DOH also reported that, nationwide, 57 percent of the total ICU bed capacity are in use; 44 percent of the total isolation bed capacity is in use; 44 percent of the total ward bed capacity is in use; and 35 percent of the total number of ventilators are being used.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), 72 percent of the total ICU bed capacity is in use; 67 percent of the total isolation bed capacity is in use; 58 percent of the total ward bed capacity is in use; and 51 percent of the total number of ventilators are being used.
Under the ECQ, all mass gatherings, including religious gatherings, would be prohibited, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
Minors, senior citizens, pregnant women, and those with immunodeficiency and co-morbidities would not be allowed to leave their households.
The curfew was also extended to cover 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The DOH, meanwhile, said the government will reallocate 75 percent of the newly-arrived COVID-19 vaccine doses to areas included in the "NCR (National Capital Region) Plus" bubble, which were recently placed under an ECQ.
Dr. Myrna Cabotaje, Health Undersecretary told radio dzBB that 75 percent of the vaccine supply will be distributed to health care workers in high-risk COVID-19 areas.
“There are 400,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines that arrived from China last March 24. These were deployed already (but) it was decided that since there are hotspots in the 'NCR Plus' bubble, we will concentrate vaccinations there,” Cabotaje said in Filipino.
Cabotaje said that vaccinations will continue despite the implementation of ECQ on Monday, March 29.
Cabotaje said the remaining 25 percent of doses will be given to health care workers in Cordillera, Cebu, Davao and Region VI.
Some 75 percent of the close to 1 million shots of vaccines made by British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca will also be dispatched for areas inside the 'NCR Plus' bubble.
“Of the 1 million doses of vaccines, as recommended by the IATF and approved by the President…75 percent will be given to the 'NCR Plus' bubble to protect health workers and the public from COVID-19,” Cabotaje said, when asked about the deployment of almost 1 million vaccines from AstraZeneca.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the 979,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses may arrive between March 24 and 26.
With Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna placed under ECQ, the strictest community quarantine, from March 29 to April 4, only limited industries will be allowed to operate.
The strictest lockdown was implemented after the country reported more than 9,000 new COVID-19 cases for two consecutive days.
The DOH on Sunday urged security personnel and health care workers in closed institutions and other health facilities that are included in the COVID-19 vaccination priority list to immediately get inoculated.
“We are calling for the last mile registration because some health care workers still don't know or forgot how they can be included in the master list,” Cabotaje said.
“When we say A1, it includes A1.7, those in closed institutions such as orphanages, nursing homes, health workers there who take care of patients. Not necessarily health care professionals,” she said.
Cabotaje said that security personnel in hospitals, health centers and private clinics are also included in the master list.
Personnel at school clinics, barangay health workers conducting contact tracing and taking specimens for swab testing are also included in the priority list, she said.
Workers at hotels that became isolation facilities must also receive their COVID-19 jabs, Cabbotaje said.
Janitors, interns, pharmacists and clerks at hospitals must also get registered for the vaccination master list.
Cabotaje said those who are on the master list should get registered in health offices in their respective local government units.
These groups are included in the 1.7 million health care workers who are supposed to be the first in line to get COVID-19 jabs, she said.
Cabotaje said 51 percent of medical frontline workers were already injected with COVID-19 vaccine to prevent infection from the coronavirus.
The latest data from DOH showed that 508,332 people in the country received vaccines as of March 23 to protect them against the severe respiratory illness. The DOH said this accounts for 62% of the first dose of vaccines.
Under the government's priority list, vaccinations must start with frontline health workers.
Next in line are indigent senior citizens, other remaining senior citizens, remaining indigent population, and uniformed personnel.