OUTDOOR exercises will be prohibited in Metro Manila while the region is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos said yesterday.
Abalos said the consensus was reached during the meeting of the Metro Manila Council on Monday night, three days after the August 6 to 20 strict lockdown imposed on the National Capital Region (NCR) took effect. Penalties and sanctions for violators will depend on the ordinances that local government units (LGUs) will impose.
The region was placed under ECQ to control the increasing number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, especially local infections caused by the Delta variant. Only authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) are allowed to go out of their homes, either to work, to be vaccinated, to purchase essentials, or for medical emergencies.
The operation of business establishments and all outdoor activities are limited, and a curfew from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. is in effect.
Abalos said the prohibition on outdoor exercises was contained in a resolution signed by the 17 mayors of Metro Manila. Exercising in open spaces was previously allowed in the NCR from 6 to 9 a.m.
“In the past week, COVID-19 cases in NCR have been increasing. This includes confirmed cases of the highly-transmissible and lethal Delta variant,” Abalos said, noting that prior to the ECQ, the number of active cases in the region was only between 5,000 to 6,000.
Abalos asked the public to be more understanding and comply with the additional restriction.
“After this, who knows… the situation might improve. I’m sure we will remove these restrictions then. The exercise ban, it’s just this — the next 10 days,” he also said.
Abalos said that while Metro Manila mayors recognize the importance of outdoor exercise, “but during ECQ, staying at home is one of the best measures in order to be protected against the threat of the highly contagious virus.”
Meanwhile on Monday night, President Duterte urged Congress to pass a law that pave the way for a quicker licensure procedure for and the grant of tax incentives to local oxygen suppliers and manufacturers amid the rising demand for oxygen support by COVID-19 patients.
The President, in his weekly Talk to the People address, said he will meet with leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives about passing a law to provide tax relief on the manufacturers.
“I’ll talk to Congress to give you a tax relief for you are producing a very vital component in the fight against the COVID-19 and the variant Delta,” he said.
Duterte also told Food and Drug authority (FDA) executive director Eric Domingo to improve and expedite the licensing procedures for oxygen manufacturers to meet the need for more supply.
He lauded the local producers of medical oxygen for keeping up their production amid the demand for medical oxygen.
Domingo, in his report to Duterte, said the FDA has given licenses to 30 medical oxygen manufacturers. This is in addition to the already 81 licensed manufacturers of the medical product all over the country.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega, in a press briefing, said the the healthcare utilization rate for NCR is in the threshold of moderate risk while intensive care units (ICU) in some hospitals have already reached high risk utilization rate.
Vega said the One Hospital Command, which tracks the use and availability of hospital beds, now receives an average of 350 to 370 calls per day, a big jump from the previous 98 to 105 calls per day prior to the ECQ.
Vega said government will augment available hospital and ICU beds with the opening of the construction of three cluster units of off-site hospital facility at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) compound.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to turn-over the first 66-bed unit of the modular health facilities this week, while the two cluster units with 44 isolation rooms and an ICU facility are set to be completed soon.
A 16-room off-site dormitory equipped with toilet and bath, and double decker beds for 32 people will also be constructed and dedicated to the healthcare workers.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar yesterday reminded police personnel to exercise maximum tolerance when dealing with violators of community quarantine protocols.
Eleazar made the reminder after barangay tanod Cesar Panlaqui shot dead scavenger Eduardo Geñoga, who is reportedly suffering from mental illness, in Tondo, Manila on Saturday night. — With Noel Talacay and Victor Reyes
