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The government is considering imposing one-month community quarantine restrictions to provide stability to the movement of people and the economy, Commerce Secretary Ramón López said Monday.
Currently, quarantine levels are changed or expanded every two weeks.
López said the longest level of quarantine was a proposal from the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and subject to the approval of President Duterte.
Duterte was expected to announce his decision Monday night after a meeting with the task force.
Stability
“The main benefit of this is that there would be more stability in our movements, in preparation for the reopening of the economy. There will be no changes every 14 or 15 days. There would be some stability, ”López said at a press conference.
He said the strategy would contribute to the effectiveness of the planned shift toward selective closures – the closing of streets or barangays with clusters of new coronavirus infections rather than entire cities or regions – and more relaxed levels of quarantine.
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal have been under general community quarantine since Aug. 19, after being placed under a tighter lockdown following a call for respite from the country’s tired health workers.
The quarantine was to end at midnight on Monday.
The 17 mayors of Metro Manila had recommended a one-month extension of the general community quarantine in the metropolis and the four surrounding provinces, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, head of the Metro Manila Council, said on Monday.
Olivarez said the mayors agreed to the extension during a meeting with six cabinet officials Sunday night.
Slow reopening of the economy
He said mayors wanted a slow reopening of the economy with strict enforcement of public health standards.
“We have to find a balance between [health] and [the] economy, “said Olivarez.
None of the mayors proposed a more relaxed level of quarantine, he said, “because we want to maintain health [measures] currently in place. “
“We want the public to adhere strictly to them,” he said.
The mayors also agreed to shorten the curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the metropolis from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow for more working hours, he said.
They also agreed to ask city councils to pass ordinances that require the use of protective masks and masks in public places.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the coronavirus response task force was studying the mayors’ recommendation.
Lopez said the task force had allowed gyms, tutoring and review centers and grooming stores to resume operations as of Tuesday.
These businesses had been prohibited from operating under general community quarantine.
“We have a close coordination with [the] Mayors of Metro Manila. Various [Cabinet officials] meet with [the] mayors every week for smoother operations and transition toward reopening the economy, ”said López.
He estimated that 75 percent of companies could operate in parts of the country under general community quarantine.
However, customers are few due to movement restrictions, which include keeping those under the age of 21 and the elderly at home.
But it was unclear whether those restrictions would be relaxed under the month-long quarantine.
–With reporting by Dexter Cabalza and Julie M. Aurelio
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