The Department of Transportation (DOTr) implemented stricter social distancing on Friday among passengers on the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Photos of the implementation were shared on Twitter.
“TINGNAN: AGARANG ipinatupad ng MRT-3 ang pagkakaroon ng ‘social distancing’ sa mga istasyon at tren nito bilang tugon sa panukala ni Pangulo Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa pagpigil sa pagkalat ng COVID-2019 sa mga railway system sa bansa, 13 Marso 2020,” the caption read.
(Rough translation: LOOK: IMMEDIATE enforcement of social distancing on MRT-3 in response to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call to help prevent the spread of COVID-2019 in the country, 13 March 2020)
TINGNAN:
AGARANG ipinatupad ng MRT-3 ang pagkakaroon ng ‘social distancing’ sa mga istasyon at tren nito bilang tugon sa panukala ni Pangulo Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa pagpigil sa pagkalat ng COVID-2019 sa mga railway system sa bansa, 13 Marso 2020. pic.twitter.com/4mrVarPRp0
— DOTr MRT-3 (@dotrmrt3) March 13, 2020
However, this post drew criticisms from commuters. Some shared photos of crowded areas where social distancing wasn’t (or was virtually impossible to be) practiced.
The president ordered community quarantine on Metro Manila after the alert level was upgraded from Code Red Sub-Level 1 to Code Red Sub-Level 2 due to the presence of community transmission and a spike in recorded COVID-19 cases.
At present, the Philippines has 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including five deaths.
The new coronavirus, which first emerged from Wuhan City of Hubei province in China, causes mild symptoms but it can also cause serious illness such as pneumonia for older people and those with other health issues.
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