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MANILA: The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte (pix) has decided to maintain the 1 meter (three feet) social distance requirement on public transportation to reduce coronavirus infections, rejecting measures to reduce it to 30 centimeters (12 inches), its spokesman said on Saturday.
Health experts have warned that narrowing the gaps between passengers on trains, buses and jeepneys could lead to an increase in infections in the Philippines, which has the most confirmed Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
Duterte studied the recommendations and decided to keep the 1 meter distance requirement, including a ban on eating and speaking on public transport, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told state network PTV4. Passengers must still wear a face shield and mask at all times, it added.
The Transport Ministry, which reduced the distance to 75 centimeters on Monday, 50 centimeters on September 28 and 30 centimeters on October 12 to accommodate more passengers returning to work as the economy gradually reopens, said it will comply. with the decision of the president.
“We will aggressively comply with and strictly enforce the 1 meter physical distancing on all public transport as planned and ordered,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The World Health Organization recommends at least 1 meter away to prevent the spread of the virus.
Manila’s transportation systems are notoriously crowded, with commuting often involving long lines and various changes.
Medical experts and professionals have described a reduction in the distancing requirement as dangerous and premature, warning that it could prolong a first wave of infections the Philippines has been battling since March.
The Philippines has nearly 280,000 infections, more than a third of which were reported in the past 30 days, and 4,830 deaths, the second-highest in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.-Reuters
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