Lenten ‘lockdown’
NCR+ placed under ECQ from March 29 to April 4
Metro Manila and nearby regions will go into lockdown beginning tomorrow until April 4 or for the duration of the Holy Week, as hospitals struggle to cope with a surge in COVID-19 infections.
More than 24 million people are expected to be affected by the re-imposed restriction officially called enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) – the most stringent among different quarantine categories set by the government.
The tougher restrictions in the country’s economic heartland – which accounts for about a fifth of the population – come as more contagious variants of the virus fuel a resurgence in cases.
The week-long rules announced last night by presidential spokesman Harry Roque apply to Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan, which have already been placed in a travel bubble to try to prevent the spike spreading across the country.
“The virus is the enemy, not the government,” Roque said.
“While we’re at home we expect the infection rates to slow. The government is ready to provide assistance,” he said.
From Monday, people will have to work from home unless they are considered essential workers.
All mass gatherings will be banned, extended curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be enforced and non-essential businesses will be shut.
Roque said President Duterte made the decision upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) after statistics showed that the daily attack rates and
two-week average rates of COVID-19 have exceeded 200 percent in almost all areas in Metro Manila.
Roque made the announcement after an emergency meeting of the IATF.
At the meeting, the IATF placed the National Capital Region (NCR) under “red zone or critical level,” which should justify its being subjected to strictest community quarantine protocols.
The uniform curfew hours have been adjusted to an earlier 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. effective tomorrow under the ECQ.
“Movement is now definitely hampered unless allowed by necessity or work,” Roque said, adding that “drastic threats warrant drastic response.”
“We should stay at home, except for essentials,” he said, adding the rules on NCR Bubble have been superseded by the recent IATF resolution 106.
Under the new restrictions, those below 18 years old and over 65 years old are prohibited from leaving their houses, along with those with immunodefiency, comorbidity or other health risks and pregnant women.
People who need to buy essential goods, work in permitted offices and those in the list of authorized persons outside of residents are allowed to leave their homes.
The government will be giving ayuda or cash assistance to affected workers within the period, Roque said.
Reducing the numbers
The drastic measure aims to reduce by more than 25 percent the current numbers of active COVID-19 cases in the Greater Manila Area even as the government would continue parallel implementation of a vacsubmission cination program, especially under “high-burden areas,” Roque said.
Provincial transports are banned, but Metro Manila public utility vehicles would be allowed under limited capacity.
According to Roque, the IATF has issued resolution No. 106-A that focuses on prevention activities such as compliance with minimum health standards even at home; use of personal protective equipment such as face masks and face shields, and retrofitting of workplaces, establishments and public places to ensure adequate ventilation.
“The expectation is we can lessen cases by more than 25 percent under the ECQ,” Roque said.
Since ECQ coincides with the Holy Week, Roque said the people should reflect on the meaning of suffering.
While admitting that stricter quarantine will affect major industries, Roque said the impact would be minimal since establishments are generally closed during Holy Week.
Under the current setup, the government has ordered the strict enforcement of Dharavi-like centers in communities where authorities would conduct house-to-house tracking of those who have symptoms of the disease. Dharavi in India is supposedly the biggest slum area in Asia.
Local government units (LGUs) should also isolate, test and contact trace suspect cases within 24 hours of their detection while 95 percent of close contacts must be traced and isolated/quarantined within 24 hours of case notification.
Since the surge in cases is attributed to the emergence of variants, Roque said the LGU and regional epidemiological surveillance units would ensure continuous sample for bio-surveillance or whole genome sequencing and continuous COVID-10 testing laboratory operations.
The government would also push for procurement and utilization of more rapid antigen test kits approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for surveillance.
Roque added that the government has ordered the importation of medicines such as Remdesivir, although under compassionate use arrangement, to address the dwindling supply in hospitals in Metro Manila and nearby cities.
Public and private hospitals; health, emergency and frontline services and manufacturers of medicines, medical supplies, devices and equipment are allowed to operate at full capacity. There are no restrictions on firms involved in the delivery and courier services, transporting food, medicine or other essential goods; agriculture, forestry and fishery and their workers, including farmers and fisherfolk.
Companies involved in essential goods and services, as well as media and their total permanent staff complement and workers accredited by the Department of Transportation are allowed to operate at maximum 50 percent capacity.
Other medical, dental, rehabilitation and optometry clinics, pharmacies or drug stores; veterinary clinics, banks and money transfer services, telecommunications companies, internet service providers, cable television providers, BPOs, funeral services, security personnel and real estate activities are allowed to operate under skeleton work force.
The capital market, water supply and sanitation services and facilities; and energy and power companies are allowed to maintain skeleton workforce.
Under the imposition of ECQ, there is implementation of temporary measures imposing stringent limitations on movement and transportation of people, strict regulation of operating industries and provision of food and essential services.
It also calls for the heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce community quarantine protocols.
Based on the omnibus guidelines issued by the IATF in January this year, minimum public standards shall be complied with at all times for the duration of the ECQ. Strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households, and the movement of all residents shall be limited to essential activities.
In the provinces, highly-urbanized cities, independent component cities of Region III, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Batangas City and Quezon province are also directed to implement enhanced prevention and detection and treatment measures to limit mobility of people.
President Duterte’s decision drew praise from Go Negosyo founder and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.
“It should be fine since economic activity goes down during Lenten season,” said Concepcion. He said the new restriction would give the burdened health care system a welcome break as well as help mitigate the continuously rising active cases in the NCR.
There were 301,519 total cases in the NCR, of whom 58,208 were considered active, as of March 25.
Given the situation, Concepcion said a smooth vaccine rollout should be given priority.
“We really need these vaccines to come in. Hopefully, there will be no delays in the arrival of the vaccines, particularly with Novavax and Covaxin
which we are helping our private sector access,” Concepcion said.
“Covaxin has applied for its EUA with our FDA, Novavax is still to apply. As for AstraZeneca, expect no delays, we should get the arrival schedules soon. Moderna from the Razon group will be coming in the 3rd and 4th quarter,” Concepcion added.
Aside from problems with vaccine supplies and logistics, the Philippines also has to deal with a subpar acceptance rate for vaccines among Filipinos, with a recent Pulse Asia survey showing six of every 10 Filipinos showing reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We have been active in educating our employees about the benefits and current misconceptions on the vaccines. Adding to this, we also assured them that we will take care of everything from the handling to the delivery of the doses,” Concepcion said.
“We just need them to join this fight as we need at least 70 percent of our population vaccinated to attain herd immunity,” he stated.
“Procuring the vaccines has been difficult as the world supply is limited and the demand is very high. With this, we are hoping that all vaccines that arrive will be consumed, particularly for NCR where the epicenter of the surge is situated,” he explained.
“This is also why together with our pioneer donors from Batch 1 of the ‘A Dose of Hope,’ we decided to focus our donations on NCR – to ensure that the infection level would be brought down at the center,” he pointed out.
“Succeeding in NCR, this would make our job of containing the virus easier. As we celebrate the Holy Week, let’s take this time to reflect – stay in our home if we don’t have essential travel or engagement,” Concepcion pointed out.