29/03/2021
Metro Manila, four provinces shift to stricter ECQ for one week
Movement in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, also known as Greater Manila area, will be limited further as these will revert to the strictest enhanced community quarantine due to the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced on Saturday.
The ECQ will be effective beginning Monday, March 29 to Easter Sunday, April 4.
The areas were earlier put in a bubble known as NCR Plus until April 4 to tackle the surge in infections at a speed never seen before. However, the bubble has since been superseded by the ECQ imposition, Roque said.
The areas will be under a 6 pm to 5 am curfew with exception to authorized persons outside of residence, cargo vehicles, and public transportation. Persons below 18 and above 60 years old, pregnant women, those with immunodeficiencies, comorbidities, and other health risks should remain in their homes at all times, Malacanang said. Travel passes are not required and exempted workers will only need to show their identification cards.
The Palace said public transportation and some priority construction projects will continue to operate subject to guidelines that will be provided by the Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Highways. Only healthcare facilities, emergency frontline services, manufacturers of medical supplies and equipment, and services under agriculture and delivery of essential goods, will be allowed to operate at full capacity.
Media, private establishments that provide essential goods and services, and workers accredited by the DOTr may work at 50% operational capacity. Other industries such as dental and veterinary clinics, banks, telcos, security, water and power supply companies, among others, may only have a skeletal workforce under ECQ.
Restaurants are no longer permitted to hold dine-in services, even al fresco dining, Roque said. Take-out and food delivery services will still be available but Roque added he has yet to clarify if they can continue to be operational for 24 hours. Only essential stores like groceries and pharmacies will be allowed to open in malls.
Malacanang also retracted its earlier announcement on religious gatherings, saying they will no longer be allowed even during the Holy Week celebration. Meanwhile, public gatherings such as weddings and baptism ceremonies may only have a maximum of 10 attendees. Indoor gatherings with persons outside of the immediate household will be prohibited as well.
Staycation hotels will not be operational during ECQ, the Department of Tourism told CNN Philippines, but hotels being used as isolation facilities may continue their services, Roque said.
On Saturday, the country recorded over 9,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day, shortly after it broke its all-time high on Friday. The more than 9,800 cases on Friday was also the fifth time in a week that the country logged an all-time high in daily infections.
For more information, you may check the link below:
https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/27/ECQ-2021-NCR-Plus-bubble.html
