UNVACCINATED individuals in the Calabarzon (Region IV-A) region are now restricted from going out of their homes due to the continuing rise in confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID) in the covered provinces.
Cabinet Secretary, and concurrent presidential spokesman, Karlo Nograles said the Regional Task Force against COVID-19 has issued a memorandum directing local task forces in the region to adopt the Metro Manila Council (MMC) resolution restricting the movement of unvaccinated persons in the National Capital Region (NCR) until January 15, or while the capital region is under Alert Level 3.
Presidential adviser on COVID response Vivencio Dizon, during the Talk to the People address of President Duterte on Tuesday night, recommended the nationwide adoption and implementation of the MMC resolution, especially in areas that still do not have surges to avert the spread and increase of COVID-19 cases.
Nograles said the recommendation will be discussed during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) today.
Nograles said local government units (LGUs) in Calabarzon have been directed to come up with their respective ordinances to limit the movements of unvaccinated individuals outside of their homes.
Cavite and Rizal, both located in the Calabazon, are under alert Level 3. Bulacan province is also under Alert 3.
Under the MMC resolution, unvaccinated people are prohibited in indoor and outdoor dining areas, leisure or social trips to malls, hotels, events venues, and sports-venues,
They are likewise not allowed for domestic travel via public transportation except when procuring goods and services.
Under Alert Level 3, a 30-percent indoor venue capacity and 50-percent outdoor venue capacity are allowed for some activities such as dine-in and personal care services and religious gatherings provided that employees and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Not allowed under Alert Level 3 are face-to-face or in-person classes for basic education; contact sports, unless under a bubble-type setup; funfairs, carnival and amusement parks; venues with live voice or wind instrument performers, and casinos.
Gatherings in residences with individuals not belonging to the same household is also prohibited.
Those aged below 18 and above 59 years old are prohibited from going out unless for buying essentials such as food and medicines, for availing of essential services such as medical checkups, or going to work in businesses and industries that are allowed to operate.
PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos said policemen will help local government officials implement the MMC restriction on unvaccinated people from malls and similar establishments.
“We asked our personnel on the ground to coordinate properly with the LGUs so there will be a clear and uniform direction on how to implement ordinances including the exemptions to the rule, should there be any. We don’t want to end up with varied interpretations on the actual application of the provisions,” Carlos said.
Carlos said security personnel of the malls and establishment have the primary responsibility in ensuring people who go inside their businesses are vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We (will only) remind these private security officers to keep their cool and learn to diplomatically explain the basis of such policy,” he said.
In Quezon City, Vice Mayor Gian Sotto said the city council has passed an ordinance regulating the mobility of unvaccinated people.
Sotto said: “The ordinance provides that unvaccinated persons may leave home only for essential reasons, such as work, food or medical services. They may not enter establishments for dine-in or other leisure reasons.”
Workers who are not yet fully vaccinated will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing every two weeks at their personal expense.
However, “the QC Council added a provision giving employers the option to provide a non-vaccinated worker a grace period of one month to obtain his/her first COVID-19 vaccination shot. As long as the worker obtains the first shot within the grace period, and subsequently obtains any required second shot as prescribed for the concerned vaccine, the worker shall not be required to take the bi-weekly test.”
The San Juan City government has also passed City Ordinance No.1, series 2022 regulating the movement of unvaccinated residents as well as penalizing them.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it will not accommodate unvaccinated individuals applying for new or renewing their passports in its consular offices (COS) and temporary off-site passport services (TOPS) facilities in malls in areas under Alert Level 3.
“The DFA, through the Office of the Consular Affairs, informs the public that its consular offices and temporary off-site passport services located in malls in areas where at least Alert Level 3 is raised will not be able to accommodate unvaccinated individuals, including minors, due to the restrictions imposed by their host malls barring the entry of unvaccinated persons,” the DFA said in an advisory.
“Consular offices are unable to override the host mall’s security and health protocols,” the advisory added.
MORE AREAS
Nograles said there is no final decision yet on the recommendation of the Department of Health — epidemiology bureau to place Laguna under Alert Level 3, while Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the IATF will discuss today the additional areas that will be included under Alert Level 3.
Año said he expects the number of COVID-19 cases to continue to rise in the coming days owing to the holiday gatherings and the presence of the Omicron variant in communities.
Asked how many areas may be included under Alert Level 3, Año said: “We are looking at other areas of Region 4-A (Calabarzon) and Region 3 (Central Luzon) because they are really near NCR and probably some key cities.”
Only Bulacan in Central Luzon is under Alert Level 3, while the other provinces — Aurora, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales — are under Alert Level 2.
“It depends on the trend, but I think there will be additional,” said Año, adding: “The projection of a cluster (in the IATF) is that cases will continue to rise until the end of the month. We will see the data analytics of the provinces whose alert should be raised to stop the increase (in COVID-19 cases).”
At the same time, Año told local government officials to immediately place areas under granular lockdown if someone gets infected with the virus so as to “cut the chain of transmission.”
The PNP said 22 areas in NCR have been placed under granular lockdown as of Wednesday, up by six from the previous day. Seven other areas outside Metro Manila are also under localized lockdown — six in Mimaropa and one in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, during the Go Negsosyo town hall meeting on Wednesday, reiterated the entire country is now under high-risk classification due to the current surge in COVID cases.
The Department of Health yesterday reported 10,775 new cases, bringing the total number of Filipinos infected with the virus to 2,871,745. — With Victor Reyes, Noel Talacay, Christian Oineza, and Ashzel Hachero