STAY at home.
The government yesterday made the appeal to residents of the National Capital Region (NCR) as the capital region goes into a strict two-week enhanced community quarantine starting today to break the local transmission of the highly-transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“We’re appealing for the full cooperation of the public. We hope they will understand why we are imposing the lockdown. This is because we want to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19, especially since we have a Delta variant here,” said Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.
Año, a key member of the IATF, said people should stay at home if they have nothing important to do outside of their residences.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the public should make a sacrifice, just like the government, “so we will be able to achieve our objective” of reducing the number of COVID-19 infections in the region.
“Let us not put to waste the earlier efforts that we made. Let us help each other so we will be successful in our objective. We need your (public) cooperation,” Eleazar said.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander Lt. Gen. Israel Ephraim Dickson said: “We are appealing to the people to stay in their respective residences and leave only for essential purposes. We seek the understanding and cooperation of our countrymen in the implementation of ECQ. We know that we are facing tough times ahead but we have to do this (lockdown).”
Dickson said that if a trip outside of one’s residence is necessary, the strict adherence to health protocols should be observed “to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant.”
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque last night said President Duterte has agreed to put Laguna, Iloilo City, and Cagayan de Oro City under ECQ until August 15, while Cavite, Rizal, Iloilo Province and Lucena City will be under modified ECQ starting today until the 15th of August.
The President placed Batangas and Quezon under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions also during the same period.
The President met with the IATF yesterday to discuss last-minute improvements in the government’s COVID-19 health protocols.
The PNP has set up nearly 300 quarantine control points in different areas in the region and has deployed around 3,000 policemen to man these checkpoints.
Dickson said 361 checkpoints that were put up last Sunday and manned by about 3,700 men would also be retained at the boundaries of Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan. These were established to prevent NCR residents from going to the provinces to avoid ECQ travel restrictions.
Año echoed that people who are authorized to go out should strictly follow minimum public health standards, especially the wearing of face mask, face shield and physical distancing.
“Bear with us because we have to do this (lockdown)…If you are not going to cooperate and will become rowdy, you are going to be arrested,” Año said.
Año reminded Metro Manila residentss that only the people belonging to list of Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APORs) are allowed to go out.
There are two kinds of APORs — the workforce APORs that includes frontliners and workers of permitted industries, and consumer APORs who are representatives of households to access essential goods like food and medicine.
People who are scheduled for vaccination and those seeking medical treatment are also allowed to go out but will have to present proof of schedule when they are accosted by policemen.
“This is just for two weeks. If you are not an APOR and you have nothing important to do outside your home, stay at home,” said Año.
Eleazar said the National Task Force Against COVID 19 has recalled an earlier decision not to allow non-APORs to fetch medical healthcare workers and other members of workforce APORs during the ECQ.
Eleazar said non-APOR drivers should secure a certificate of employment of the worker APOR from the latter’s employer. The certificate must indicate the name of the driver, the plate number of the vehicle and the contact number of the employer of the worker-APOR.
The second requirement, Eleazar, is a copy of the business permit of the worker-APOR’s employer.
“These requirements are important in the conduct of random counter-checking by policemen to ensure the legitimacy of the documents relating to the fetching of workforce APORs,” he said.
Eleazar said the public should understand why authorities are imposing stricter rules under the ECQ.
“The objective of the stricter implementation of ECQ is clear: That is to limit the movement of people due to the threat of the Delta variant of COVID-19. If we are not going to strictly implement the quarantine rules, it will certainly defeat the real purpose of the ECQ,” Eleazar said.
Año said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) was expected to discuss proposals to also place under strict lockdown the nearby provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan.
“What I know is that based on the dialogue of (Health) Secretary (Francisco) Doque with some local government units, Quezon, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal, initially those four (want ECQ in their areas),” said Año.
“I heard Bulacan and Batangas also want to join (ECQ). We are going to discuss that later today. Those were product of initial dialogue between DOH and LGUs. The IATF was not part of that,” he added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday said he has given orders to the National Bureau of Investigation to track down people maliciously spreading false information that unvaccinated people will not be allowed to go out during the two-week ECQ in Metro Manila.
“There is an standing DOJ directive for the NBI to track down people maliciously and willfully spreading false information in cyberspace,” Guevarra said as he appealed to the public not to fall prey to fake news.
“The IATF has already clarified that in view of the fact that many people in the NCR have not been vaccinated due to supply constraints, there will be no distinctions in the meantime between APORs who have been vaccinated and those who have not received their jabs during the ECQ in Metro Manila,” he said. — With Ashzel Hachero
The false information spreading in Metro Manila was pointed as the reason why there was a sudden influx of people in various vaccination sites in the metropolis, especially in the cities of Manila and Las Piñas.
Also, Guevarra ordered the NBI to probe the alleged hoarding of medical oxygen tanks and other medical supplies in Cebu and other parts of the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guevarra issued Department Order 182 addressed to NBI acting director Eric Distor directing the agency “to conduct an investigation on the alleged hoarding of medical oxygen tanks and other medical supplies in Cebu and other parts of the country where incidents of COVID-19 are high or are expected to rise, and if evidence warrants, to file the appropriate charges against all persons involved and found responsible for any unlawful act in connection therewith.”
Guevarra directed the NBI to submit a progress report on its investigation within 10 days.
