Kids 5 and up now allowed in select outdoor sites in MGCQ, GCQ areas

In a further easing of pandemic restrictions, children at least 5 years old are now allowed to visit select places outdoors in areas under less restrictive quarantine classifications.

Under Resolution No. 125, the latest from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) dated Thursday and issued Friday, children 5 years old and above can go outdoors in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ).

But they are still limited to parks, playgrounds, beaches, biking and hiking trails, outdoor tourist attractions as may be defined by the Department of Tourism, outdoor noncontact sports venues, and al fresco dining establishments.

According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who also speaks for the IATF, shopping malls and other mixed-use buildings and facilities remain off-limits to these children.

Roque also said local governments still have the discretion to adjust the age restrictions on children, like raising the minimum age allowed outdoors, depending on the COVID-19 situation in their areas.

Under supervision

The children must still be supervised by adults when going out and must comply with minimum public health protocols, including the wearing of face masks and physical distancing, he said.

The new rule allowing children to go out also does not apply to GCQ areas under “heightened restrictions.”

The areas under GCQ “with heightened restrictions” until July 15 are Laguna and Cavite provinces, while the areas under GCQ “with some restrictions” also until July 15 are Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan.

The resolution comes more than a year after children were confined to their homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with in-person classes also prohibited.

In January, the IATF moved to allow minors age 10 to 14 years old in MGCQ areas to go outside their houses. But President Duterte overturned that decision due to the threat of the Alpha variant of the coronavirus.

The government has been gradually easing curbs on public mobility to revive the economy.

Last month, the task force allowed fully vaccinated senior citizens in MGCQ and GCQ areas to step out of their houses.