Overcrowding, super spreader events feared with kids outdoors

MANILA, Philippines — After the government allowed children outdoors, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) warned yesterday that overcrowding in open spaces can lead to COVID-19 super spreader events.

“Everybody is excited to go out; there might be overcrowding. Aside from face masks, one component of the minimum public health protocol is social distancing. So if people are crowding, it might become a super spreader event,” MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos told radio dzBB.

Abalos reminded the public to observe physical distancing and avoid flocking to open public areas like the Baywalk in Manila, especially if they plan to bring their children along.

He also reminded the public to continue practicing health and safety protocols like the wearing of face masks and face shields even for children.

Abalos said the Metro Manila Council (MMC) came up with a common set of measures to ensure the safety of children and their parents or guardians while in open areas.

For instance, Abalos hinted local governments could limit the capacity of public spaces and ask private owners of open spaces to deploy marshals. He would also clarify with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) if malls with open areas can admit customers with children.

The IATF recently allowed kids aged five and above in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas like Metro Manila to leave their homes and engage in outdoor activities in public spaces like beaches, parks and playgrounds.

More vaccination sites

Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua yesterday said government is looking to establishing more vaccination sites in malls and offices to speed up inoculation amid the threat of new variants.

“Our effort should be on accelerating vaccine deployment. As supply resumes by next week, we will exert effort to increase vaccination centers, including malls and workplaces, and prioritizing areas of highest risk of infection,” Chua said, adding that government hopes to achieve herd immunity by December.

“We recognize the higher risk brought about by the Delta variant. This can be better managed by guarding our borders and enforcing health standards, as well as imposing localized lockdowns in areas of transmission, rather than placing the entire country or large areas in GCQ or higher level of quarantine,” he added.

Chua said workers could no longer afford to lose their jobs to lockdowns, as they need to earn to address non-COVID concerns, particularly hunger.

Last week, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said that government may achieve its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Filipinos by yearend, but admitted it may only cover the first dose because of supply constraints and administration issues. –  Elijah Felice Rosales