What is the General Community Quarantine?

As the deadline for the Enhanced Community Quarantine nears the end, a press briefing with PRRD and the Inter-Agency Task Force today specified high-risk areas that will continue to implement ECQ until May 15, 2020 (Related: Enhanced Community Quarantine Extended for Benguet and other Areas) while the following low to moderate risk areas will ease into what the task force calls the new normal, the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting May 1, 2020.

Low to Moderate Risk Areas that will undergo GCQ

Moderate Risk areas:

• Negros Occidental
• Negros Oriental
• Siquijor
• Davao del Sur
• Davao Oriental
• Sultan Kudarat
• Lanao del Sur

Low-Risk Areas:

• Apayao
• Mt Province
• Ifugao
• Kalinga
• Ilocos Sur
• Batanes
• Quirino
• Aurora
• Palawan
• Romblon
• Camarines Norte
• Sorsogon
• Masbate
• Guimaras
• Biliran
• Bohol
• Eastern Samar
• Leyte
• Northern Samar
• Southern Leyte
• Zamboanga del Norte
• Zamboanga Sibugay
• Bukidnon
• Camiguin
• Davao Occidental
• Sarangani
• Agusan del Sur
• Dinagat Islands
• Surigao del Norte
• Surigao del Sur
• Agusan del Norte
• Basilan
• Sulu

General Community Quarantine Recommendations

The following are the IATF recommendations for areas that will no longer undergo Enhanced Community Quarantine:

1. Sectors 1, 2, and 3 can resume work
2. Kids ages 0-20, senior citizens, and high health risk persons shall stay at home
3. Mall opening covering non-leisure shops will be allowed.
4. Resumption of priority and essential construction projects will be allowed
5. Non-workers will be allowed to go out to purchase goods and services except those pertaining to leisure activities
6. Public transportation shall be allowed to operate on a reduced capacity
7. LGU shall impose curfew in the evening for non-workers.
8. SAP cash subsidy for areas that are no longer under ECQ shall be considered for reprioritization towards areas that are still under ECQ
9. Higher Education Institutes (HEI) will be allowed to finish the school year and give credentials to students
10. In ECQ and GCQ areas, airports and ports will reopen for essential goods only.

Option to shift GCQ in moderate and low-risk areas by industry

100% opening for the following industries is recommended:

– Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry
– Food Manufacturing and supply chain including ink packaging raw materials
– Food retail (supermarkets, restaurants for take-out and delivery only)
– Hospitals
– Logistics
– Water
– Energy
– Internet
– Telecommunications
– Media

50%-100% opening is recommended for the following industries:

– Other manufacturing (eg. electronics and exports)
– E-commerce and delivery for essential and non-essential items
– Repair and maintenance services
– Housing and office services

50% on-site work and 50% Work From Home (WFH) for the following industries:

– Financial services
– Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
– Other non-leisure retail and wholesale trade
– Other non-leisure services

Consider for 100% closure for the following industries because transmitters are youths aged 0-20

– All schools and universities (consider late opening on September except at the earliest) except online learning
– Leisure, entertainment, gaming, fitness
– “kid” industry
– Tourism
– All gatherings including religious conferences
– Limited opening of malls
– Limited opening of construction

Proposal on mall operations

1. Allow certain sections of malls to open
   1. Supermarkets
   2. Drugstores
   3. Banks
   4. Laundry Service
   5. Restaurants (for takeout and delivery only)
   6. Hardware
2. Allow only the following to enter
   1. Age 21 to 59 with ID and not looking sickly
   2. Mandatory temperature check
   3. Mandatory wearing of masks
   4. Mandatory alcohol use
   5. Limit the number of people inside the mall
3. Impose health standards
   1. To avoid lingering, increase aircon temperature to 26 degrees and remove free Wi-Fi
   2. Mall operators or employers to provide masks and gloves to employees

The New Normal

As we transition into the new normal, the fight against COVID-19 continues. The Inter-Agency Task Force will continue evaluating the national situation and will continue to recommend guidelines that will help us adapt to the changes brought about by the invisible enemy.

Source: IATF-EID Meeting and Talk to the People