(Eagle News) – Religious gatherings in General Community Quarantine (GCQ) areas is back to limited 30 percent capacity but only on condition that there is no objection from the local government unit (LGU) covering the religious venues.
This was announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday, March 19, 2021.
Business gatherings were likewise restricted to 30 percent of a venue’s capacity.
Roque said that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) agreed to restrict mass gatherings, including religious and business activities, because of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, particularly in Metro Manila which recorded the highest rise in cases.
This limitations will take effect starting Friday, March 19, until April 4.
“Ang mga religious gatherings ay kailangang mag-observe ng maximum ng 30 percent ng venue capacity nang walang pagtutol o objection mula sa lokal na pamahalaan,” Roque announced on Friday.
“Binibigyang discretion din ang mga lokal na pamahalaan na taasan ang venue capacity nang hindi lalagpas sa 50 percent base sa mga kondisyon sa kanilang lugar,” he said.
National government agencies are likewise encouraged to defer the conduct of non-critical activities that would entail mass gatherings.
On Feb. 15, the restrictions in GCQ areas were relaxed to allow religious gatherings of up to 50 percent capacity because of the decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases then. Hospital capacity for COVID-19 cases were also stable then, and the critical care utilization rate for hospital beds has not yet been reached.
The situation is different now, a month later, as the Metro Manila’s COVID-19 cases have spiked, and the critical care utlitzation rate has been reached in some cities in the PhIlippine capital.
At least 53 percent of active COVID-19 cases are also in Metro Manila, according to Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega.
Areas under GCQ this March include Metro Manila, and the cities of Baguio, Davao, Iligan and Tacloban, as well as five other provinces — Kalinga, Mt. Province and Batangas in Luzon, and Lanao del Sur in Mindanao.
(Eagle News Service)
