IATF eyes shift to ‘new normal’ for areas without Covid-19 transmission

MANILA, Philippines — Areas without Covid-19 transmission may soon transition to the “new normal” where remaining quarantine restrictions will be eased, Malacañang said Monday.

According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved “in principle” the declaration of new normal areas in the country.

He added that the task force is now formulating guidelines for the new normal.

“It has been approved in principle po talaga na magkakaroon ng deklarasyon talaga ng new normal areas. Pero ang binubuo lang po ngayon ay yung mga ‘Dos and Don’ts’ sa new normal,” Roque said.

(It has been approved in principle to have a declaration of areas [that will transition into the] new normal.)

“Kasi baka magkaroon ng new normal, bigla silang magkaroon ng rock concert. Iyon po ang lilinawin natin, iyong mga dos and don’ts sa mga new normal areas,” he added.

(This is necessary because if there would be new normal, they might immediately hold a rock concert. These are the things that we need to clarify, the dos and don’ts in areas with the new normal.)

Majority of areas in the country are currently under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the government’s most lenient quarantine classification and the next phase before the new normal.

The government imposed a lockdown over the entire Luzon in mid-March of 2020 and has since been relaxed to pave the way for the reopening of the pandemic-hit economy. High-risk areas are placed under the most stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and the modified ECQ, while moderate-risk areas are placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) or the modified GCQ.

Currently, Metro Manila, the provinces of Davao del Norte, Batangas, Isabela, Lanao del Sur and the five cities Santiago, Iloilo, Tacloban, Iligan, and Davao are all under GCQ until January 30. The rest of the country, meanwhile, is under MGCQ.

The Philippines’ Covid-19 caseload has already reached the 500,000 mark, but the majority, or 93.1% are recoveries. Only 24,691 or 4.9% of the overall tally are active cases.