No kids outdoors, gov’t urged

Perhaps we can suspend it in Metro Manila because there are cases (of the Delta variant) and Covid-19 cases are increasing here

Metro Manila mayors have urged the pandemic task force to rescind its recent decision allowing minors to step outside their homes amid the threat of the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos, chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, said on Monday that local officials in the capital region unanimously voted to suspend the policy since individuals in such an age group may turn into “superspreaders” of the deadly and highly-contagious virus type.

“Perhaps we can suspend it in Metro Manila because there are cases (of the Delta variant) and Covid-19 cases are increasing here,” Abalos said during President Rodrigo Duterte’s televised meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force Against for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“The kids aged 5 to 17 have yet to receive their vaccines and may therefore become superspreaders,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

During the meeting, neither Duterte nor any IATF member responded to the suggestion raised by Abalos.

The Delta variant raised concern among health experts since it was found to be 60 percent more infectious than other variants, including the strain which first emerged in Wuhan, China.

The Philippines has so far detected 35 individuals with Delta variant cases, three of whom have died.

Earlier this month, the task force approved a resolution which stated that minors residing in places under general community quarantine without “heightened restrictions” and those under modified GCQ were allowed to step outside their homes and visit open spaces.

These include parks, playgrounds, beaches, biking and hiking trails, tourist sites and attractions accredited by the Department of Tourism, outdoor non-contact sports courts and venues, as well as fresco dining establishments.