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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 18) – It’s final: The Philippine government is ending the controversial policy that reduced the physical distance between travelers following President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Saturday.
The distance inside public service vehicles will revert to one meter after the Department of Transportation on September 14 reduced the distance to 0.75 meters. The World Health Organization recommends maintaining a distance of one meter to avoid the spread of COVID-19, which is transmitted through respiratory droplets.
DOTr was supposed to implement a gradual reduction of the gap, down to 0.3 meters between travelers in the final phase in mid-October, but this was met with criticism from the health sector.
Several medical experts opposed reducing physical distancing on public transportation, warning that the number of COVID-19 cases will rise to at least 600 new cases daily in Metro Manila. Former COVID-19 task force adviser Dr. Tony Leachon said that maintaining a safe distance is the best way to protect people from contracting COVID-19. He said this even trumps the use of masks and face shields, which are requirements at USP.
“Of all the interventions, physical distancing is the most effective cornerstone for infection control,” he said Friday.
The policy has also elicited opposing views within the national government’s COVID-19 task force. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade stood firm on his application, claiming medical studies. But the head of Health, Francisco Duque III, along with Eduardo Año, vice president of the National Working Group against COVID-19, rejected the plan during its review.
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