Alert Levels System in NCR extended until Oct. 15
The IATF is extending the pilot implementation of the Alert Levels System in the National Capital Region (NCR) until Oct. 15, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
In its Sept. 30 meeting, Roque said, the Inter-Agency Task Force also approved an additional 10% of indoor capacities for dine-in services, in-person religious services, and personal care services in areas under Alert Level 4 for fully vaccinated individuals.
Fitness studios and gyms may reopen at 20% capacity for fully vaccinated individuals, provided that all gym workers are also vaccinated, and that both clients and service providers are wearing face masks at all times. No group activities in fitness studios or gyms are allowed.
Also approved by the IATF is the pilot rollout of the vaccination of children ages 12 to 17 years old with vaccines granted Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. This will begin on Oct. 15 under a phased approach determined by the National Vaccination Operations Center.
The national vaccination program will be open to the general population nationwide upon the determination of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and its Vaccine Cluster.
Community quarantine classifications for October are as follows:
Under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from October 1-15 are Apayao, Kalinga, Batanes, Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Lucena City, Rizal, Laguna, Naga City, and Iloilo Province.
Under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions from Oct. 1-31 are Abra, Baguio City, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, City of Santiago, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Quezon, Batangas, Bacolod City, Capiz, Iloilo City, Lapu-Lapu City, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Butuan City, and Surigao del Sur. Davao de Oro will also be under GCQ with heightened restrictions but only from October 1-15.
Under GCQ from October 1-31 are Ilocos Norte, Dagupan City, Benguet, Ifugao, Tarlac, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa, Albay, and Camarines Norte for Luzon. For the Visayas: Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Cebu City, Cebu Province, Mandaue City, Siquijor, and Tacloban City. While for Mindanao, those under GCQ are Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City, Misamis Occidental, Iligan City, Davao City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Cotabato City, and Lanao del Sur.
The rest of the Philippines will be under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).
The IATF is also allowing community healthcare workers to move within, into, and out of an area under granular lockdown if their institutions are unable to provide accommodations for them. It is endorsing to local government units (LGUs) the routine and catch-up immunization and the community-based Measles-Rubella and Tetanus-Diphtheria (MR-Td) immunization activities of the DOH. For this purpose, children younger than 2 years old, 6-7 years old, and 12-13 years old are exempt from community quarantine restrictions.
The IATF released its updated list of countries/territories that belong to the Red, Yellow, and Green List for Oct. 1-15. Bermuda is the only country in the Red List.
There are 49 countries in the Green List. Countries in the Green List including American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
All others not listed above are in the Yellow List.
The IATF also agreed to the proposal of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for triangulated international arrival flights to different gateways, which the CAB may approve on a per airline basis.
Banner photo by KJ Rosales/Philippine Star