MANILA, Philippines — Shortly after the announcement that Metro Manila and four of its adjacent provinces will again be under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 29 until April 4, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque enumerated on Saturday over state-run PTV the industries that would be allowed to operate.
The following industries will be allowed to operate at full capacity are:
- Public and private hospitals
- Health, emergency, and frontline services
- Manufacturers of medicines, medical supplies, devices, and equipment
- Delivery and courier services, transporting food, medicine, or other essential goods
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishery and their workers, including farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, fisherfolk, and agri-fishery stores
The following will operate at a maximum of 50-percent capacity:
- Private establishments (essential goods and services)
- Media establishments and their total permanent staff complement
- Workers accredited by the Department of Transportation
And the following will operate with a skeleton workforce:
- Other medical, dental, rehabilitation, and optometry clinics, pharmacies, or drug stores
- Veterinary clinics
- Banks, money transfer services
- Telecommunications companies, internet service providers, cable television providers
- Manufacturing companies and suppliers (construction works, such as cement and steel)
- Funeral and embalming services
- Security personnel
- Real estate activities limited to leasing only
- Capital markets
- Water supply and sanitation services and facilities
- Energy and power companies
- Airline and aircraft maintenance, pilots and crew, and employees
- The Philippine Postal Corporation, PSA, business process outsourcing firms, export businesses, printing presses
- Humanitarian assistance personnel from civil society organizations, non government organizations, United Nations-Humanitarian country teams
- Pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, or such other religious ministers
- Repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment
Apart from these, Roque said that essential stores in mall be allowed to open, such as pharmacies, groceries, and hardware stores.
Restaurants will remain open, but only for take-out and delivery. Dining-in, even al fresco, is prohibited.
Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna were placed under ECQ starting for one week due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
As of March 27, the Philippines has recorded 9,595 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing its total to 712,442.
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