GUIDELINES for the resumption of construction work for infrastructure projects under both enhanced and general community quarantine settings have been approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the “Construction Safety Guidelines for the Implementation of Infrastructure Projects during the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis” was released by the Department of Public Works and Highway after the IATF last Friday issued Resolution No. 34 which allowed the resumption of public and private infrastructure projects in ECQ and GCQ areas.
Among the health safety protocols that construction firms need to enforce are regular disinfection of construction sites, observance of social distancing, and the imposition of a liquor ban on all sites.
Other are the conduct of an inventory of work for the construction sequencing to be followed and undertaking of social distancing; observance of clustered and staggered deployment of employees within the construction site; holding of break times in a staggered manner; provision of employees’ quarters for the entire duration of the project or for those that cannot provide temporary housing, to limit the number of personnel running errands or going in and out of the construction site and monitoring them for possible coronavirus symptoms within 14 days from entry;
Proper and regular disinfecting of the field offices, employees’ quarters, and other common areas in the construction site; provision of adequate food, safe/potable drinking water, disinfectants and hand soaps in the employees’ quarters; daily monitoring of health condition of workers; and bringing of workers with COVID-19 symptoms to a treatment facility for a 14-day quarantine.
Work activities shall also be strictly monitored by a safety officer to ensure compliance to safety standards and quarantine protocols.
Roque said DPWH engineers on site shall ensure strict compliance to the wearing of additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in government construction projects, while contractors of essential private construction projects under GCQ shall assign a safety officer to ensure the implementation of social distancing measures.
For off-site employees, transport service shall be provided while sharing of construction and office equipment is discouraged. Transportation vehicle and construction offices and equipment used must be disinfected in between transfers between personnel.
A specific team of personnel shall be tasked to deliver and dispose all material and equipment, while proper waste disposal shall be provided for infectious waste such as PPE and other waste products coming from outside the construction premises.
Non-essential personnel and visitors will not be allowed to enter the construction site, employees’ quarters, and field offices while all personnel entering the site premises on a temporary basis shall be properly logged and checked for symptoms.
Gatherings and parties in construction sites are also strictly prohibited.
Construction projects had been stopped when the lockdown was implemented in Luzon in March. The enhanced community quarantine had been extended thrice and had been downgraded to a general community quarantine in some areas.
RESOLUTION 34
Roque said the IATF Joint Resolution 34 also approved the opening of classes for basic education on August 24. The school year 2020-2021 shall end on April 30.
He said no face-to-face classes will be allowed prior to August 24.
Roque said schools are advised to adopt various learning delivery options such as blending learning, distance learning, home schooling, and other schemes. Curricular and co-curricular activities are canceled, along with Science and Trade fairs, school sports, campus journalism, festival of talents and job fairs, among others.
The IATF also adopted and approved the recommendation of the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) for the implementation of the National Greening program and National Forest Protection program in conjunction with the “Balik-Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa” program, which will involve the planting of trees in five to 10 hectares of land to be made available by the government.
RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
On calls to lift the prohibition on mass and other religious gathering, Roque said there had been no new discussions in the IATF about it.
He said the IATF are open to allowing holding of the mass and other religious gatherings but local government officials had been opposed to it due to concerns about the observance of social distancing and other protocols and the experience in some countries where the COVD-19 spread through religious gatherings.
He said the religious groups may need to coordinate with their local government officials and present to them the measures that their churches would adopt and implement to observe social distancing and other safety protocols.
TRANSPORT SECTOR
Various transport sectors on Monday presented their respective health safety protocols before the Senate committee on public services chaired by Sen. Grace Poe once the ECQ is lifted and a GCQ is imposed.
Poe, Senate committee on public services chairperson, called for a hearing on Monday to see how the air, land, sea, and rail sectors have been preparing for the quarantine transition.
“Today we explore the possibility of a progressive resumption of public transportation in the coming weeks. We will take on a calibrated and data-based approach to this challenge in order to complement post-lockdown strategies,” Poe said.
She added: “We will make certain adjustments to see if whatever proposals we have right now is actually going to work or not, we will have to see on the day that we actually lift the quarantine. So to our passengers the most important is to maintain social distancing, always wash your hands, keep a mask on. Otherwise all of these measures will be for nothing.”
LAND TRANSPORT
Martin Delgra, chairman of the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board, said the primary mode of transportation will be buses and the modern jeepneys since both have cashless payment systems.
He said the service of traditional jeepneys will be tapped only if there will be a shortage in public mass transportation, adding that only those with franchises will be allowed to operate.
To observe social distancing, Delgra said buses will be allowed to accommodate only 50 percent of seating capacity, with the passengers only to occupy only designated seats.
He said taxis and transport network vehicle services must install acetate barriers between the driver and the passengers. They will be allowed to ferry a maximum of three passengers — one seated in front, and two at the back who will be seated apart from each other.
Delgra said motorcycle-ride hailing services will still be suspended.
Delgra said a special assistance package will be prepared by the Department of Transportation to help drivers cope with their earnings since it will not approve any fare increase to offset the drivers’ income.
Transportation assistant secretary for road transportation and infrastructure Mark Richmund de Leon said all drivers and conductors, as well as passengers, will be required to wear face masks at all times during their trips. Hand sanitizers or alcohol dispensers should likewise be made available and accessible in all vehicles.
De Leon said it also highly encouraged for these transport sectors to have electronic payment systems to prevent human to human contact.
He said conductors and drivers of TNCs will also check on the temperature of their passengers with the use of thermal scanners.
RAIL SECTOR
Transportation undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the Light Rail Transits 1 and 2, Metro Rail Transit 3, and the Philippine National Railways will only allow 14 percent capacity under a GCQ setting. He said each train coach of the train system can accommodate at least 390 passengers.
For the other passengers in between end terminals to be able to ride, Batan said skip trains will be allowed to run.
He said passengers will only be allowed to seat in marked seats to observe social distancing. Train marshals will be dispatched to make sure that the measures are observed.
Passengers waiting for a ride will also practice social distancing, Batan added.
He said they will also consider extending the trains’ operating hours to accommodate more passengers. — With Raymond Africa
