‘New normal’ guidelines underway for areas without Covid-19 transmission — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s Covid-19 task force is crafting the dos and don’ts for the possible transition to “new normal” of areas where there is no Covid-19 transmission, Malacañang said Wednesday.

“‘Yan naman po talaga ay napagusapan na ng ating IATF at ang inaantay lang po natin ay yung mga do’s and don’ts,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said when asked of possibly declaring some areas under the “new normal” in an interview over state-run People’s Television Network.

(That is being discussed by the IATF and we are just waiting for the dos and don’ts.)

Roque earlier said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved “in principle” the declaration of “new normal” in some areas.

“Hayaan niyo po, sa susunod na IATF [meeting] ay bubuksan ko po muli itong usapin na ito dahil tayo po talaga yung nag move na magdeklara na tayo ng new normal sa mga lugar na wala na pong transmission ng Covid-19. Meron naman po tayong mga lugar na natigil na po ang transmission ng Covid-19,” Roque said.

(Don’t worry, in the next IATF meeting, I will once again open this topic because we are the one that moved to declare new normal in areas that no longer have Covid-19 transmission. There are now areas where the Covid-19 transmission already stopped.)

Roque, however, did not provide other detail which areas in the country have no coronavirus transmissions.

For the month of February, areas under GCQ are Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region, Batangas, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao del Norte, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur.

The rest of the country is currently under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the most lenient quarantine classification and the phase before the “new normal.”

According to IATF’s guidelines on the implementation of community quarantine, “new normal” refers to “emerging behaviors, situations, and minimum public health standards that will be institutionalized in common or routine practices and remain even after the pandemic while the disease is not totally eradicated through means such as widespread immunization.”

“These include actions that will become second nature to the general public as well as policies such as bans on large gatherings that will continue to remain in force,” it added.

EDV