MANILA, Philippines — The failure to follow physical distancing rules during the opening of the artificial white sand beach along Manila Bay over the weekend alarmed the Department of Health as it reminded the public to continuously practice minimum health standards.
People had been flocking to the stretch of the baywalk covered with crushed dolomite rocks since Saturday, when it was opened to the public until the early evening of Sunday. Photos and videos of the event showed people crowding and not practicing physical distancing despite efforts to limit the people inside the beach area.
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“Ito ay isang nakakabahalang sitwasyon. Alam nating lahat na di pa nawawala ang virus dito sa atin,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum Monday.
(This is a worrying situation. We know that the virus is still around.)
Vergeire stressed the need for the proper implementation of health protocols that are necessary in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Kailangan pa rin nating i-enforce ang minimum health standards. Kailangan nating mapalalahan ang ating mga kababayan na ito ay isang delikadong situation dahil maaaring magkaroon ng pagkakahawa-hawa ng mga mamamayan na pumupunta dyan na di pinapatupad nang maiigi ang minimum health standards,” she said.
(We need to enforce minimum health standards. We need to remind the people that it is a dangerous situation because there might be transmission of the virus if minimum health standards are not strictly implemented.)
The event resulted in the relief of Police Lt. Col. Ariel Caramoan, the commander of Manila Police District Police Station 5.
The Joint Task Force COVID Shield said in a statement Sunday that Caramoan “could have prevented the quarantine protocol violations at the Manila Bay if there was prior planning and regular monitoring of the situation in the areas.”
“I saw yesterday there was this action that the Philippine National Police were requested to mobilize more of their cadres so that they can strictly enforce minimum health standards in this area. Also, there was this move to coordinate with the City of Manila,” Vergeire said, adding that the incident may be discussed in the meeting of the government’s inter-agency task force.
The “beach nourishment” project—which includes the artificial white sand beach—is part of the efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay, government officials said. Environmental groups criticize the project for being costly and for being potentially harmful to communities and marine ecosystem.
The DOH has so far reported 286,743 cases of COVID-19 in the country, with most of the infections coming from outbreak epicenter Metro Manila.