Año: Media, those seeking medical help to be exempted from Metro lockdown
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Friday that the government will come up with a list of those who will be exempted from the community quarantine that will be imposed on the whole of Metro Manila amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.
In an interview with DZBB, Año said those seeking medical help in Metro Manila health facilities and members of the media will be exempted from the lockdown.
“Maglalabas tayo ng mga exemption katulad ng mga merong medical intervention or treatment. ‘Yung mga kailangan ng medical operation, intervention, papayagan natin ‘yan,” he said.
(We will release a list of those exempted, for example those seeking medical interview or treatment. Those who need medical operation, intervention, they will be allowed to enter and exit.)
“‘Yung media pwede, papayagan naman ‘yun (members of the media will also be allowed to enter or exit [the Metro Manila]),” he added.
Officers of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will help enforce the lockdown order, said Año.
Earlier, the Interior Secretary said workers residing outside Metro Manila will be allowed inside the capital region despite the implementation of the community quarantine.
He explained that employees from outside Metro Manila will only have to show their identification cards indicating their respective workplaces in the metropolis.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced Thursday night that he is placing the entire Metro Manila under a “community quarantine” to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Under a community quarantine, land, domestic air, and domestic sea travel to and from Metro Manila will be stopped from March 15 until April 14.
“To my countrymen, do not panic. Please do not be stressed to the point that you may not be able to do what you want to do,” Duterte said. “You can still do so, but we will have restrictions. There will be conditions because there is a crisis.”
A total of 52 patients in the country have contracted the disease as of Thursday. Five of the cases have ended in deaths.
Edited by MUF
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