MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine capital region will move to localized blockades and an alert level system from Sept. 16 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and allow more companies to resume operations, it said Monday in the afternoon the president’s spokesman.
Large-scale, tight and long closures since last year have decimated the Philippine economy, which was one of the fastest growing in Asia before the pandemic.
“We should strive for total health and this can only be achieved by carefully balancing our COVID-19 response taking into account both the health of our people and the economic health of the nation,” the presidential spokesman said. Harry Roque in a statement.
Under the new guidelines, quarantine sidewalks will cover entire cities, replacing the existing four-grade classification imposed on large groups of cities and provinces, the coronavirus working group said in a statement.
The Ministry of Health will determine which parts of the capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities where there are more than 13 million people, will be located below narrow or loose levels, depending on case transmission rates and the ‘hospital occupation.
Granular closures in critical areas will be imposed for at least 14 days, the working group said.
But mayors in areas with lower alert levels may allow the operation of indoor entertainment venues such as theaters, bars, clubs, cinemas and amusement parks, which were companies banned from operating even in areas of low risk since last year.
Limited face-to-face classes and other education-related activities at all levels can be resumed in areas with low virus transmission and hospital use, the working group said.
The Philippines, which has the second-highest number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia, is battling its worst rise in infections, overwhelming hospitals and health workers.
Cases in the last 30 days alone accounted for more than a fifth of the country’s 2.2 million cases, while total deaths reached 35,145.
(Report by Neil Jerome Morales; Edited by Hugh Lawson)