Duterte Cabinet approves easing quarantine age restrictions — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet has approved expanding the age group who are allowed to go out of their homes during community quarantine, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Under the current policy of the government’s COVID-19 task force, those aged below 21 to above 60 years old are required to stay home with the exception of work and accessing necessities.

“What was approved was yung gradual expansion of the age group allowed to go out,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.

But Roque said it is the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases that will decide on the adjustment of age allowed to go out.

“Babaguhin talaga yung edad pero let me see, I think we will give some leeway to the IATF to actually fix kung anong edad ‘yan,” Roque said.

(The age restriction will be changed but let me see, I think we will give some leeway to the IATF to actually fix what age is that.)

“I think mabababa yung edad ng kabataan at matataas yung edad ng mga seniors. I think I’m almost sure that 65 will be the age for seniors, hindi lang ako sigurado at what age it will be [set for] the young people,” he added.

(The age of youth allowed to go out will be lowered and the age of seniors will be increased. I think I’m almost sure that 65 will be the age for seniors, I’m just not sure at what age it will be set for the young people.)

Roque said the Cabinet also approved to shorten the curfew hours and allow multiple work shifts to enable more workers to return to their jobs.

He did not specify the adjustment for curfew hours.

But Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, co-chairperson of the IATF, said it was possible to push the curfew in Metro Manila to midnight up to 5 a.m. from the current 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

EDV