(Eagle News) – With the return to the stricter Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, strict home quarantine shall again be observed in all households, with their movement limited to only accessing essential goods and services, from Tuesday, August 4 to 18.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced the return to MECQ of these areas as COVID-19 cases in the country passed 100,000, with the addition of a record-high of 5,032 new cases on Sunday, August. 1, acceding to requests from health workers for a “time-out” as COVID-19 cases overwhelmed the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces.
-Strict home quarantine, observance of minimum health standards-
Based on the updated Omnibus Guidelines on Community Quarantine as amended on July 16 by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), minimum public health standards shall be complied with at all times for the duration of the MECQ.
Only work in permitted offices or establishments can be allowed under MECQ.
“Any person below 21 years old, those who are 60 years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women, including any person who resides with the aforementioned, shall be required to remain in their residences at all times, except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services, for work in industries and offices or such other activities permitted,” it said.
-Establishments allowed to operate at full capacity-
These are the establishments allowed to operate at full operational capacity under the amended Omnibus Guidelines on Community Quarantine:
a. All establishments, persons, or activities permitted to operate, work, or be undertaken under Section 2(4) of these Guidelines. These include the following which are also allowed under ECQ:
i. Public and private hospitals;
ii. Health, emergency and frontline services, including those provided by
dialysis centers, chemotherapy centers, and the like;
iii. Manufacturers of medicines, medical supplies, devices and equipment,
including suppliers of input, packaging, and distribution;
iv. Industries involved in agriculture, forestry, and fishery and their workers,
including farmers, Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), fisherfolk, and
agri-fishery stores, and such other components of the food value chain;
and
v. Delivery and courier services, whether in-house or outsourced,
transporting food, medicine, or other essential goods, including clothing,
accessories, hardware, housewares, school and office supplies, as well as
pet food and other veterinary products;
b. Media establishments, without need of accreditation from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO);
c. BPOs and export-oriented establishments, without need to set up onsite or near-site accommodation arrangements;
d. E-commerce companies;
e. Other postal and courier services, as well as delivery services for articles or products not mentioned under Section 2 of these Omnibus Guidelines;
f. Rental and leasing, other than real estate, such as vehicles and equipment for permitted sectors;
g. Employment activities that involve the recruitment and placement for permitted sectors; and
h. Housing services activities, such as but not limited to plumbing, roofing, and electrical works.
-Offices allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity-
Meanwhile, here are the following offices, establishments or individuals conducting or providing the following activities or services are allowed to operate at fifty percent (50%) operational capacity, while encouraging work-from-home and other flexible work arrangements, where applicable:
a. Other manufacturing industries classified as beverages, including alcoholic drinks; electrical machinery; wood products and furniture; non-metallic products; textiles and clothing/wearing apparels; tobacco products; paper and paper products; rubber and plastic products; coke and refined petroleum products; other non-metallic mineral products; computers, electronic and optical products; electrical equipment; machinery and equipment; motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; other transport equipment; and others;
b. Other real estate activities;
c. Administrative and office support such as, but not limited to, providing photocopying and billing services;
d. Other financial services not mentioned in Section 2 of these Omnibus Guidelines, such as, money exchange, insurance, reinsurance and non-compulsory pension funding;
e. Legal and accounting services;
f. Management consultancy services or activities;
g. Architectural and engineering activities, including technical testing and analysis;
h. Science and technology, and research and development;
i. Recruitment and placement agencies for overseas employment.
j. Advertising and market research;
k. Computer programming and information management services;
l. Publishing and printing services;
m. Film, music and television production;
n. Photography, fashion, and industrial, graphic and interior design;
o. Wholesale and retail trade of vehicles and their parts and components;
p. Repair and maintenance of vehicles as well as its parts or components, including car wash services;
q. Malls and commercial centers, subject to the guidelines issued by the DTI;
r. Dining establishments and restaurants, but for delivery and take-out only;
s. Hardware stores;
t. Clothing and accessories;
u. Bookstore and school and office supplies;
v. Baby or infant care supplies;
w. Pet food and pet care supplies;
x. Information technology, communications and electronic equipment;
y. Flower, jewelry, novelty, antique and perfume shops; and z. Toy stores, Provided, that their playgrounds and amusement areas, if any, shall remain closed;
aa. Firearms and ammunition trading establishments, subject to strict regulation of the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office;
and bb. Pastors, priests, rabbi, imams, and other religious ministers insofar as providing home religious services to households. Provided that proper protocols shall be observed, such as social distancing, wearing of face masks and the like.
The IATF said that agencies and instrumentalities of the government, including GOCCs, as well as local government units may operate with a skeleton workforce in combination with other alternative work arrangements as approved by the head of agency unless a different operational capacity is required in agencies providing health and emergency frontline services, border control, and other critical services
“Accredited diplomatic missions and international organizations shall be advised to operate under a skeleton workforce, without prejudice to alternative work arrangements as the said missions or organizations may deem proper,” the revised omnibus guidelines said.
-Hotels , accommodations again not allowed to operate; exemptions listed-
The IATF said that hotels or accommodation establishments shall not be allowed to operate, except those accommodating the following:
a. For guests who have existing booking accommodations for foreigners as of 17 March 2020 for Luzon and 01 May 2020 for other areas;
b. Guests who have existing long-term bookings;
c. Distressed OFWs and stranded Filipinos or foreign nationals;
d. Repatriated OFWs in compliance with approved quarantine protocols;
e. Non-OFWs who may be required to undergo mandatory facility-based quarantine; and
f. Health care workers and other employees, whether private or public, from exempted establishments under these Omnibus Guidelines and applicable Memoranda from the Executive Secretary
All these accommodation establishments may operate only upon the issuance of a Certificate of Authority to operate by the Department of Trade. This is provided further, that in all of the hotel operations, these will be limited to the provision of basic accommodation services to guests through an in-house skeleton workforce
“Ancillary establishments within the premises, such as restaurants, cafés, bars, gyms, spas, and the like, shall not be allowed to operate or to provide room service, it said.
These establishments can only prepare: (a) packed meals for distribution to guests who opt for the same; and (b) food orders for take-out and delivery only. (As amended by Paragraph A(2) of IATF Resolution No. 43, June 03, 2020)
–Mass gatherings prohibited-
Meanwhile, mass gatherings such as but not limited to, movie screenings, concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment activities, community assemblies, and non-essential work gatherings shall again be prohibited.
“Gatherings that are for the provision of critical government services and authorized humanitarian activities while adhering to the prescribed minimum health standards shall be allowed,” the Omnibus Guidelines read.
“Religious gatherings shall be limited to not more than five (5) persons until otherwise modified through subsequent issuances of the IATF.”
“Face-to-face or in-person classes at all levels shall be suspended,” the guidelines as amended said.
Public transportation shall be suspended. This notwithstanding, commissioned shuttle services for employees of permitted offices or establishments, as well as point-to-point transport services provided by the government shall be allowed to operate, giving priority to healthcare workers.
Regarding private transport such as company shuttles and personal vehicles used by persons authorized outside their residences are allowed subject to the guidelines provided by Department of Transportation. “The use of bikes and other non-motorized transportation is strongly encouraged,” it said.
“Limited operations in malls and shopping centers shall be allowed, except for leisure establishments and services which shall continue to be closed,” it said.
This is provided, that establishments and services allowed to operate in malls and shopping centers may only operate at a capacity consistent with the listed items for establishments allowed to operate at full and 50 percent capacity.
Persons under 21 and oabove 60, and those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women including any person who resides with the them, may not enter malls and shopping centers “except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services or for work in establishments located therein until otherwise modified through subsequent issuances of the IATF.”
Other essential and priority public and private construction projects shall also be allowed, “subject to compliance with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) construction safety guidelines.”
However small scale-projects as defined by the DPWH shall not be allowed, it said.
-Establishments not allowed to operate-
Meanwhile, here are the establishments not allowed to operate within an MECQ area:
a. Tourist destinations such as water parks, reservation service and related services;
b. Entertainment industries such as cinemas, theaters, and karaoke bars;
c. Kid amusement industries such as playroom and kiddy rides;
d. Libraries, archives, museums and cultural centers;
e. Gyms, fitness studios and sports facilities; and
f. Personal care services such as massage parlors, sauna, facial care and waxing
Individual outdoor exercise such as outdoor walks, jogging, running or biking are allowed within MECQ areas, but this is provided that the minimum health standards and precautions such as the wearing of masks and the maintenance of social distancing protocols are observed. Other exemptions from the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) through previous IATF resolutions or issuances by the Office of the President shall also be applied in MECQ.
“The provisions relative to processing of payrolls, the RapidPass system, use of government owned or hired vehicles and identification cards for humanitarian assistance actors and public and private employees in areas under ECQ shall likewise apply in areas under MECQ,” it added.
(Eagle News Service)
