‘New normal’ for Covid-free areas

Under MGCQ, public gatherings such as movie screenings, concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment activities are allowed, but participants may fill no more than half of the capacity of a venue

Some areas in the country with low Covid-19 cases will transition into the “new normal” classification, Malacañang said Monday, nearly a year after community quarantine was imposed in the Philippines.

The government has defined “new normal” as “emerging behaviors, situations, and minimum public health standards that will be institutionalized in common or routine practices even after the pandemic while the disease is not totally eradicated.”

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) has agreed “in principle” to place parts of the country under “new normal,” where restrictions on activities including travel are lifted.

“We will discuss it but it was approved in principle that we will declare new normal. Right now, we are forming the dos and don’ts under the new normal,” Roque said in a televised briefing.

The “new normal” classification used to be the fifth and lowest quarantine classification until the task force temporarily removed it in June last year.

Roque maintained that the classification will be declared only in areas without local transmission of coronavirus.

“The IATF has approved that we will declare new normal classifications in areas without new transmission, so, we can have hope that this Covid-19 pandemic will be over,” Roque said.

“Although we don’t have vaccines yet, there are places without local transmission of the virus. We will let them return to the normal times,” he added.

Under the current four-tier classification, the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) is the most lenient lockdown status.

Majority of provinces in the Philippines are currently under MGCQ, except Metro Manila, the provinces of Batangas, Lanao del Sur, and Davao del Norte, along with the cities of Santiago in Isabela, Tacloban in Leyte, Iligan in Lanao del Norte and Davao City in Davao del Sur which are under general community quarantine.

The current lockdown classifications are set to lapse after 31 January.

It was approved in principle that we will declare new normal. Right now, we are forming the dos and don’ts under the new normal.

Under MGCQ, public gatherings such as movie screenings, concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment activities are allowed, but participants may fill no more than half of the capacity of a venue.

The same rule applies to religious gatherings, community assemblies, and non-essential work gatherings.

When the Covid-19 outbreak began in March, the government enforced lockdowns in a bid to contain the spread of the novel disease, restricting movement except for crucial work and health concerns.

Since then, the government has been imposing varying levels of quarantine restrictions across the archipelago. Classifications are based on the number of infections recorded in the area, as well as the health care system’s capacity to accommodate patients.

So far, the Philippines has tallied over 500,577, of which 24,691 are active cases. The death toll, meanwhile, stands at 9,895.