Malacañang on Wednesday released fresh guidelines for the implementation of quarantine protocols nationwide amid the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said “minimum standards” should be observed in places where enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ, and general community quarantine (GCQ) would be implemented beginning May 16.
Roque reminded Filipinos that they must use face masks, practice frequent sanitation and hand washing, and avoid touching their face and other surfaces to protect themselves against Covid-19.
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He added that the practice of strict social distancing of at least one meter, reconfiguration of workspaces, and the putting of markers in public places must be done across the country.
On public movement, Roque said people residing in places where ECQ and modified ECQ will be enforced must “100 percent” stay at home.
Vulnerable individuals, such as senior citizens, and transmitters, such as youths, are not allowed to go outside of their homes while GCQ is being implemented, he said.
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Roque noted that outdoor exercise is not allowed during the ECQ period, while people from areas placed under modified ECQ can walk, jog, run, and bike so long as they observe safety protocols, such as wearing of face mask and practicing social distancing of at least two meters.
He said limited sports, such as golf and tennis, are allowed in places under GCQ.
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Roque said mass gatherings are still prohibited in areas under ECQ.
However, he said, a gathering of a maximum of five people is allowed in areas where modified ECQ will be implemented.
Roque said a maximum of 10 people could hold a meeting in areas placed under GCQ.
On transportation, Roque said the temporary stoppage of mass public transport is still in effect in areas where ECQ is imposed.
The government, however, would allow the use of shuttles for front-line workers and private vehicles for persons allowed to leave homes in areas under ECQ, he said.
“There is no public transportation in areas under ECQ,” Roque said.
For areas under modified ECQ, the government would permit the use of government company shuttle, personal vehicle, bicycle, motorcycle, electric scooter, and public shuttle, he said.
Meanwhile, all public and private transportation are allowed in areas under GCQ, but strict safe distancing and safety protocols must be followed.
Roque also said domestic flights are prohibited and international flights are limited in areas under ECQ and modified ECQ.
As for work in public and private sector offices, he said there should be stricter protocols for higher risk occupations, industries, and spaces.
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Roque said workers in the private sector must undergo Covid-19 tests and must be provided shuttle services.
Skeleton workforce in government would be allowed during the imposition of ECQ and modified ECQ, he said.
Alternative work arrangements for government employees, Roque said, would be practiced in areas under GCQ.
“There will be alternative work arrangements in areas under GCQ. Employees may render 40 hours of work or avail of the four-day workweek,” he said.
Roque said school premises are still closed in areas under ECQ and GCQ.
Skeleton workforce may be adopted in areas under GCQ to process students’ requirements and make preparations for graduation activities and class opening, he said.
Under Resolution 35 of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Roque said the government would also declare “zoning” guidelines based on the number of COVID-19 positive cases and rate of transmission in the affected areas.
The National Capital Region, Laguna and Cebu City are under the red or critical zone, with more than 20 cases per 100,000 population. The orange or containment zone has one to 19 cases while the yellow or buffer zone has no cases but contiguous to areas with cases. The green or outside of buffer zone has no confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, an economist of the House of Representatives on Wednesday said the administration should remain vigilant despite the easing of the lockdown to be done through the determination of “risk classifications.”
“This should not lead to complacency. Exhaustive testing and tracing remains a matter of life and death since as many as 17,000 new infections are still possible if there were no mass testing and active case isolation in place,” said Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, Committee on Ways and Means chairman and one of President Rodrigo Duterte's trusted advisers on the pandemic issue.
Salceda warned in a preliminary impact analysis of the IATF directive, that the classification of provinces “should be understood not as cues for proportionate complacency, but as varying stages of infectivity demand evolving emphases on key interventions such as testing and tracing.”
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“Our initial analysis, subject to evolving data, shows that infectivity rates in low and medium risk areas remain higher than in the high risk areas. That probably means infection has just began in those areas. On the one hand, that’s a threat because that means if you don’t prevent transmission, there’s more to come. On the other hand, that’s an opportunity to test and trace exhaustively, while it is still starting," Salceda said.
Salceda’s analysis, based on figures from the Department of Health, also shows that as many as 17,800 infections could still take place given current infectivity rates, “without tracing, testing, and isolation.”
Meanwhile, a party-list legislator appealed to the IATF to amend its guidelines on physical distancing to allow private motorists, including motorcycle riders, to ferry passengers who are members of their household.
Rep. Ronnie Ong of the Ang Probinsyano party-list group said "it doesn't make sense" that people who were living, eating and sleeping together in the same house should be apprehended for being in the same vehicle or for riding together in a motorcycle for supposed violation of the rules on physical distancing set by the IATF.
"People living in the same house don't obviously observe physical distancing when they are in their own house so it really makes no sense at all that they would be prevented from riding together in a private car or in a motorcycle," Ong, vice chairman of the House Committee on Rural Development, said.
Ong particularly cited several cases where policemen manning checkpoints had forced motorcycle riders to turn around and leave their own relatives behind who were also working as medical frontliners.
At the same time, the Kilusang Mayo Uno labor center called for safer workplaces as the government eased restrictions on its lockdown of Metro Manila and allowed a certain freedom of movement amid the COVID-19 crisis, mainly to enable return-to-work conditions.
President Rodrigo Duterte aired the decision in a public announcement Tuesday after meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“We cannot allow this government to risk the lives of workers in favor of business. We realize the decision was a concession to the industry but the real mover of the economy is human labor,” KMU Secretary-General Jerome Adonis said.
KMU pointed out, that without mass testing, the workers would be exposed in workplaces, and in transit going to and from work.
“Workers returning to work should be cared for not only with face masks, sanitation, and distancing. As part of occupational health and safety, they should be prioritized for PCR testing—not antibodies or rapid testing that cannot precisely detect COVID-19 infection,” Adonis said.
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