PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the inclusion of Albay province in Bicol region and Zamboanga City in Mindanao in the list of areas with extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
In a memorandum issued on May 2, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said Albay and Zamboanga were placed on ECQ effective 12 midnight of May 2 until 11:59 p.m. of May 15.
Under an ECQ, public transportation systems are suspended, schools remain closed, mass gatherings are prohibited and the people, except essential workers and frontliners, are required to stay at home.
The inclusion of the two areas is based on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Other areas with extended ECQ are Metro Manila or National Capital Region, Central Luzon except Aurora, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, Benguet, Iloilo including Iloiilo City, Cebu including Cebu City, Davao City and Bacolod City.
The rest of the nation shifted to general community quarantine (GCQ) on May 1.
Under GCQ, minimum health standards are observed such as wearing of face masks in public and physical distancing.
Public transportation systems may resume operations at reduced capacity to ensure physical distancing.
Selected establishments, including non-luxury retailers in malls, may reopen subject to minimum health standards. Aside from wearing of face masks and physical distancing, there should also be sanitation facilities and temperature checks.
Only half of the workforce may be allowed to physically report for work. The rest may adopt a work-from-home arrangement.
Restrictions in GCQ areas may be further relaxed after May 15 if the situation does not deteriorate. (MVI/VoxPop Philippines)