MANILA, Philippines – The free shuttle provision initiated by Vice President Leni Robredo’s office will commence on Wednesday, March 18, with trips from various areas in Metro Manila starting by 6:00 a.m.
According to a post on Robredo’s official Facebook page, the free shuttle service, which was a response to the lack of public transportation modes due to the enhanced community quarantine, will serve six major routes, namely:
Alabang-Magallanes to Tayuman in Manila
EDSA-Roxas Boulevard to EDSA Quezon Avenue MRT
SM Mall of Asia EDSA to Sta. Lucia East in Cainta
SM Fairview to Lawton, Manila
Balintawak LRT to Heritage Hotel in EDSA
However, Robredo clarified that only health workers along the route may be allowed to ride the trips. Health workers who wish to ride the free shuttle would be required to present a valid identification card from the hospital that they are working for.
Here are the detailed routes, as posted on Robredo’s page:
ROUTE 1: RITM Alabang — Magallanes SLEX MRT (via Osmeña Highway, via Quirino Ave.) — Taft Ave. LRT — PGH / UP-NIH — Lawton LRT — Carriedo LRT — Recto LRT — Tayuman LRT — Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center
ROUTE 2: Heritage Hotel EDSA ext (via Roxas Blvd., via Quirino Ave.) — Taft Ave. LRT — PGH / UP-NIH — Manila City Hall (via Quiapo) — UST Hospital — UDMC (via Welcome Rotonda, via Quezon Ave.) — Phil. Orthopedic Center (Banawe, via Araneta Ave. — EDSA Quezon Ave. MRT
ROUTE 3: SM MOA Globe EDSA — EDSA Taft LRT / MRT — Magallanes MRT — Guadalupe MRT — Shaw MRT — Cubao MRT / LRT2 (via Aurora Blvd., via C5 ext.) — QMMC (via C5 / Marcos Highway) — Santolan LRT2 — Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, Cainta
ROUTE 4: EDSA ext. / Macapagal Ave. — EDSA Taft LRT / MRT — Magallanes MRT — Shaw MRT — Cubao MRT / LRT2 — East Ave. Medical Center — Phil. Heart Center — Lung Center of the Phils. (via Quezon Memorial Circle) — VMMC (via EDSA) — Monumento LRT
ROUTE 5: SM Fairview (via Commonwealth Ave, via Quezon Memorial Circle) — East Ave. Medical Center — Phil. Heart Center — Lung Center of the Phils. (via Agham Road, via Quezon Ave.) — Phil. Orthopedic Center — UDMC (Welcome Rotonda, via España) — UST Hospital — Lawton LRT
ROUTE 6: Balintawak LRT — Quezon Ave. MRT — GMA – Kamuning MRT — Cubao MRT — Santolan–Annapolis MRT — Ortigas MRT — EDSA cor. Kalayaan Ave. — Ayala MRT — Magallanes MRT — Heritage Hotel EDSA ext.
All those who would ride the shuttle would be screened, including temperature checks, to ensure that other riders would not be exposed to COVID-19.
“Humihingi kami ng paumanhin sa delay ng paglabas ng mga detalye; nakipag-coordinate pa ang aming Tanggapan sa mga iba’t ibang ospital na pupuntahan ng shuttle service,” Robredo said.
“Please standby for the specific meeting points, schedules, and route maps, which we will post later this evening,” she added.
President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon island on an enhanced community quarantine for 30 days, after the Department of Health has noted an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
As of Tuesday, COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are still seeing a continuous rise, now at 187 with 12 dead.
Another six patients were allowed to go on a home quarantine, while four have recovered from the ailment.
READ: BREAKING: DOH record 45 new cases of COVID-19; total now at 187
READ: Luzon now under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ – Palace
The COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, whose surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces. Worldwide, over 168,000 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, with at least 6,506 dead.
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