President Rodrigo Duterte made the announcement late Sunday night that Metro Manila will be reverting to MECQ status following recommendations from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and calls from frontline health workers.
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, and Rizal will be under MECQ from August 4 until 18. The MECQ status will be effective on August 4, midnight.
(Metro Manila returns to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine)
Here are the updated guidelines for MECQ:
- Minimum public health standards shall be complied with at all times.
- Strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households. The movement of all residents shall be limited to accessing essential goods and services and for work in permitted offices or establishments.
- Any person below 21 years old, those who are 60 years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women, and any person who resides with them shall be required to remain in their residences at all times.
- Exceptions include when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services, for work in industries and offices, or such other activities that are permitted.
- Other exemptions from the ECQ through previous IATF resolutions or issuances by the Office of the President shall also be applied in MECQ.Â
What sectors can operate?
At full capacity:Â
- Public and private hospital
- Health, emergency, and frontline services
- Other medical, dental, rehabilitation, and optometry clinics, pharmacies or drug stores
- Veterinary clinics
- Manufacturers of medicines, medical supplies, devices, and equipment
- Private establishments and their employees involved in the provision of essential goods and services, and activities in the value chain related to food, medicine and vitamins production, medical supplies, devices and equipment, and other essential products
- Industries involved in agriculture, forestry, and fishery and their workers
- Delivery, courier, and postal services
- Media establishments, with or without PCOO accreditation
- BPOs and export-oriented establishments, without need to set up onsite or near-site accommodation arrangements
- E-commerce companies
- Rental and leasing for real estate, vehicles, equipment
- Employment activities that involve the recruitment and placement for permitted sectors
- Housing services activities
- Workers accredited by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to work on utility relocation works, and specified limited works across thirteen (13) railway projects
- Banks, money transfer services including pawnshops, and capital markets
- Water supply and sanitation services and facilities
- Energy and power companies, their third-party contractors and service providers
- Telecommunications companies, internet service providers, cable television providers
- Airline and aircraft maintenance, pilots and crew, and employees of aviation schools
- Ship captains and crew
- Manufacturing companies and suppliers of equipment or products necessary to perform construction works
- The Philippine Statistics Authority
- Funeral and embalming services
- Humanitarian assistance personnel from civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and United Nations-Humanitarian Country Teams, as well as individuals performing relief operations
- Security personnel
- Essential projects to COVID-19 containment, whether public or private
- Printing presses authorized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue
- Establishments engaged in repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment
At 50% capacity:Â
- Other manufacturing industries
- Other real estate activities
- Administrative and office support
- Other financial services
- Legal and accounting services
- Management consultancy services or activities
- Architectural and engineering activities
- Science and technology, and research and development
- Recruitment and placement agencies for overseas employment
- Advertising and market research
- Computer programming and information management services
- Publishing and printing services
- Film, music and television production
- Photography, fashion, and industrial, graphic and interior design
- Wholesale and retail trade of vehicles and their parts and components
- Repair and maintenance of vehicles as well as its parts or components, including car wash services;
- Malls and commercial centers, subject to the guidelines issued by the DTI
- Dining establishments and restaurants, but for delivery and take-out only
- Hardware stores
- Clothing and accessories
- Bookstore and school and office supplies
- Baby or infant care supplies
- Pet food and pet care supplies
- Information technology, communications, and electronic equipment
- Flower, jewelry, novelty, antique and perfume shops
- Toy stores provided that their playgrounds and amusement areas, if any, shall remain closed
- Firearms and ammunition trading establishments, subject to strict regulation of the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office
- Pastors, priests, rabbi, imams, and other religious ministers insofar as providing home religious services to households
Hotels or accommodation establishments shall only accommodate the following:
- Guests who have existing booking accommodations for foreigners as of 17 March 2020 for Luzon and 01 May 2020 for other areas
- Guests who have existing long-term bookings
- Distressed OFWs and stranded Filipinos or foreign nationals
- Repatriated OFWs in compliance with approved quarantine protocols
- Non-OFWs who may be required to undergo mandatory facility-based quarantine
- Health care workers and other employees, whether private or public, from the exempted establishments
- Limited operations in malls and shopping centers, except for leisure establishments and servicesÂ
What is allowed?
- Gatherings that are for the provision of critical government services and authorized humanitarian activities
- Religious gatherings related to 5 persons
- Commissioned shuttle services for employees of permitted offices or establishments and point-to-point transport services provided by the government
- Private transportation such as company shuttles and personal vehicles utilized by persons authorized outside their residences are allowed
- Other essential and priority public and private construction projects except for small-scale projectsÂ
- Individual outdoor exercise such as outdoor walks, jogging, running or biking
What is NOT allowed?
- Mass gatherings and other entertainment activities, community assemblies, and non-essential work gatherings
- Face-to-face or in-person classes at all levels
- Public transportation
- Tourist destinations (water parks, theme parks, etc.)
- Entertainment industries (cinemas, karaoke bars, etc.)
- Kid amusement industries (playrooms, kiddy rides, etc.)
- Libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers
- Gyms, fitness studios, and sports facilities
- Personal care services (massage parlors, sauna, facial care, and waxing)
What do you think about this?
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