MANILA, Philippines — Residents of areas under general community quarantine are no longer required to present quarantine passes when they head out of their homes starting next month, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Thursday.
Metro Manila—the epicenter of the country's coronavirus outbreak—will transition into more relaxed general community quarantine to revitalize a faltering economy by June 1 after nearly three months of strict lockdown measures.
Related Stories
Other areas that will be under GCQ beginning June 1 include Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Albay, the province of Pangasinan and the city of Davao.
The rest of the country, meanwhile, will shift to a modified GCQ.
“Within the province ay hindi na kailangan ‘yung ini-issue na mga barangay quarantine pass,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday night.
(Within the province, barangay quarantine passes are no longer needed.)
Crossing provincial borders, however, will still require a travel pass.
“Magiging mahigpit pa rin tayo sa mga provincial border… Travel pass na lang po para sa pagdaan niya from one province to another o kaya ay from one region to another ay makikita po natin na may kabuluhan talaga ang nagbibiyahe at hindi siya nagbibiyahe lang para sa leisure,” Año said.
(We will remain strict in provincial borders. Travel pass is needed to cross one province to another or from one region to another so we can see that travel is for essential purpose, not for leisure.)
In areas under GCQ, most businesses will be allowed to open and public transportation will return in a limited form.
The announcement of President Rodrigo Duterte came hours after health authorities reported 539 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily figure since the outbreak started in March. The Department of Health said the surge in reported infection reflects tests that were conducted days and weeks prior.
In total, the new coronavirus has so far infected 15,588 people in the Philippines with 921 deaths. — Gaea Katreena Cabico