Health officials have recommended to the President that mobility restrictions on unvaccinated people be applied nationwide, following Metro Manila’s lead.
During President Duterte’s Talk to the People on Tuesday night, Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Vivencio Dizon said he, along with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., pushed for the nationwide adoption of the policy to bar the unvaccinated from leaving their homes except for essential activities.
He said many countries, particularly those in Europe, are already restricting the mobility of unvaccinated persons.
“This is really the situation today in different countries, not just us, that the unvaccinated are really the ones that are being hit badly by the new variants and they are the ones causing the health care systems to be congested. And because of that, they pose the greatest risk,” Dizon said.
Councilors in Quezon City have passed an ordinance regulating the mobility of unvaccinated persons.
Under the measure, non-fully vaccinated workers will be required to undergo a swab test every two weeks at their personal expense, and must present a COVID-19 negative result before being admitted for work on site.
If an RT-PCR test or result is not immediately available, a rapid antigen test may be used.
The city council added a provision giving employers the option to provide a non-fully vaccinated employee or worker a grace period of one month to obtain his or her first COVID-19 vaccination shot.
As long as the employee obtains the first shot within the grace period, and subsequently obtains any required second shot as prescribed for the concerned vaccine, the employee will not be required to take the bi-weekly test.
A person with a medical condition, which prevents full COVID-19 vaccination, may be exempted provided that his or her employer should submit a medical certification from a physician.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s Metro Manila Council, composed of 17 mayors, issued a resolution urging local government units to enact ordinances for enhanced restrictions on unvaccinated people.
The resolution would only allow unvaccinated persons to leave home for essential reasons, such work, food or medical services but they may not enter business establishments for dine-in or other leisure reasons.
A violator will be fined P500 for first offense, P1,000 for a second offense and P1,500 for a third offense.
A commercial establishment violating the ordinance will be penalized with P3,000 for first offense; P5,000 for a second offense, and suffer a suspension of its business permit and temporary closure, and P5,000 for a third offense.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, said unvaccinated people are barred from entering its consular offices in malls under Alert Level 3 or higher.
In an advisory on Wednesday, the DFA, through the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA), said the restriction applies to all consular offices and temporary off-site passport services (TOPS) located in malls.
The restriction applies to unvaccinated individuals, including minors, due to the restriction imposed by the host malls which bars their entry.
“Consular offices are unable to override the host malls’ security and health protocols,” the DFA said.
It advised affected applicants to check the regulations of the malls before proceeding to their appointments or have these rescheduled after having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or after restrictions for the unvaccinated have been lifted.
In other developments:
• Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government is planning to conduct a national vaccination day for senior citizens for COVID-19 jabs and boosters. At a town hall meeting, Duque said it was important to encourage the public to get the primary series and the booster doses “at the soonest possible time.”
• National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., said the Philippines is relatively slow in administering booster shots against COVID-19. In his report to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Talk to the People on Tuesday night, Galvez also noted that 2.5 million senior citizens have yet to receive their primary shots. But Galvez said at least 8 million under the pediatric age group have received first doses, and 5.7 million of them are now fully protected against the dreaded disease.
• The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said the number of individuals who will get vaccinated is expected to increase after fewer individuals were vaccinated during the holiday season. NVOC Chairperson and Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje stressed that the “no vaccine, no entry” policy will also encourage Filipinos to get their COVID-19 vaccination.