Farming, fishing allowed during Luzon-wide quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — “Healthy” farmers and fishermen are now exempted from the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) said Wednesday.

Upon the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) recommendation, the IATF through a resolution has also allowed “farming and fishing activities to continue.”

IATF, however, noted this is “subject to the implementation of a skeletal workforce and social distancing measures.”

Agricultural supply stores and veterinary clinics are now also allowed to operate.

The IATF reiterated that the movement of agricultural supplies, including food packaging and manufacturing should be unhampered.

The Local Price Coordination Council (LPCC) was also reactivated to “strengthen the price monitoring and enforcement.”

The enhanced community quarantine over Luzon will take effect until midnight of April 13. This is to limit the public’s movement as the government addresses the threats of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

It suspended public transportation, prohibited mass gatherings and even ordered the temporary closure of some businesses, excluding hospitals, groceries and drug stores, and the like.