Philippines studies month-long community quarantine schemes

MANILA – The government is considering imposing community quarantine classifications for a month, a cabinet official said Monday, as President Rodrigo Duterte will announce new virus restrictions.

The interagency working group on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is already discussing the imposition of community quarantines for a longer period instead of the usual period of half a month, Commerce Secretary Ramón López said.

“We are studying a long-term community quarantine period. In other words, baka Hindi na 14 days, baka a month long,” Lopez said in a virtual press conference.

(Maybe it’s not 14 days anymore but 1 month).

Since the start of the pandemic closures in March, the government has routinely reviewed community quarantine ratings for parts of the country every 15 days.

The Philippines employs a 4-tier community quarantine scheme that ranges from the strictest enhanced community quarantine to the more relaxed modified general community quarantine or MGCQ.

The level of quarantine dictates the type of business activities allowed in a given area, as well as the travel restrictions.

From August 16 to August 31, all parts of the Philippines were placed under two levels of quarantine: general community quarantine and MGCQ.