MANILA, Philippines — The government’s pandemic task force has “provisionally approved” new guidelines on coronavirus curbs which will “hopefully” be implemented in Metro Manila from September 16 to 30.
The new system, which Malacañang announced Friday, would largely do away with the now-familiar community quarantine classifications as the capital region will only be placed either under enhanced community quarantine or the laxer general community quarantine.
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It also introduces alert levels under GCQ, where Alert Level 4 is the strictest.
Under Alert Level 4, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said, all industries that are closed, crowded and require close contact would not be allowed to operate. Among these are religious gatherings, social gatherings, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibits, indoor tourist attractions, personal care services and dining in.
Alert Level 3 loosens restrictions on these industries which would be allowed to operate at 30% capacity, while they will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity under Alert Level 2. “Almost all” businesses will be allowed under Alert Level 1, provided that minimum public health standards are still observed.
Densing said businesses may be allowed with an additional 10% capacity if they obtain a safety seal from the government.
He added that the Department of Health will be determining alert levels every week, which during the pilot run would be implemented in the entire capital region. After the pilot run, all cities and the lone municipality in Metro Manila may be placed under different alert levels.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said there are still debates within the government’s pandemic task force on whether to place Metro Manila under Alert Level 4 or Alert Level 3 for the pilot testing of the new curbs.
Granular lockdowns
Along with the new alert level system, harsher 14-day granular lockdowns will also be implemented where only health and health-allied professionals, departing and arriving overseas Filipino workers, and those with emergencies would be allowed to go out of their residences.
Those who live in areas under granular lockdowns will be provided with food aid, Roque said.
Densing said among the reasons for the shift to granular lockdowns is that coronavirus cases in Metro Manila have been recorded in only 12% of its barangays.
However, the government’s pandemic task force is still considering whether to ease restrictions on vaccinated individuals, whether to allow al fresco or even indoor dining at 30% capacity, and the criteria for declaring alert levels, Densing said.
For the so-called vaccine bubble, Densing said that the Department of Justice said this may not be possible as vaccines are not yet widely available.
Meanwhile, Densing said the Metro Manila Development Authority wants a review of the criteria for declaring alert levels as 26% of those admitted in hospitals in the region are supposedly not its residents.
This experiment on coronavirus curbs was supposed to start September 8, but the government called it off at the last minute as the guidelines on its implementation was not yet ready.