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Local government units (LGUs) can now allow children under the age of 15 and people over 65 to travel for tourism purposes in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Malacañang said in a statement on Friday, November 20. 2020..
The Inter-institutional Working Group (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, during its meeting on Thursday, November 19, relaxed the age restrictions in tourism “after the determination of the LGU and the guidelines that the Department of Tourism will issue DOT), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ”.
The IATF also instructed LGUs to relax entry protocols, such as the check-on-arrival requirement, imposed on airline crew stopovers / positioning during emergency situations.
Emergency situations include typhoons, volcanic activities, diversions and emergency landings, and other similar emergency and unexpected evacuations.
Airline crew members can also temporarily stay in accommodation establishments under a “bubble” concept supervised by the LGUs.
The IATF also removed the requirement that airlines reserve a portion of the aircraft cabin as an isolation area for suspected ill passengers on board as part of Covid-19 health protocols for domestic flights.
Good development
The new IATF resolution is a “very good development” for the tourism industry, said Cebu City Tourism Commissioner Jocelyn Pesquera, as it complements the “home vacation” with family, which is being promoted. by the Tourism Commission.
Pesquera said it is also responding to the clamor from the tourism sector to relax government restrictions as it tries to recover from financial losses months after the reopening in September, when the city’s quarantine status was downgraded to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
“These are still challenging times for our tourism stakeholders,” he said.
Pesquera said that about 20 percent of the accredited establishments delayed their operations until January 2021.
Tourism-related establishments in the city were forced to temporarily close due to government restrictions when Cebu City was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) last March.
Tourist boost
At the Provincial Capitol, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn García thanked the IATF for easing travel restrictions.
“We thank the IATF for affirming our position. This will be a much needed boost for the tourism industry and the country’s economy, ”Garcia told Sunstar Cebu on Friday.
With the province of Cebu now under MGCQ, the IATF order would benefit its component towns and cities that depend on tourism as a commodity, Garcia said.
The province’s tourism industry has been hit hard by strict quarantine protocols.
In November this year, around 212 tourist establishments in the province of Cebu reopened after complying with the new health protocols established by the Provincial Tourism Working Group.
In Lapu-Lapu City, Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan also welcomed the IATF’s decision, especially as he had requested its approval to allow children under 15 and people over 65 to travel with their families for tourism. .
“It is very advantageous for the city of Lapu-Lapu, but of course we will continue to follow the minimum health protocols established by the IATF,” Chan said. / PR, JJL, ANV / JKV, GCM
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