MECQ guidelines: Which transportation and businesses are allowed?
President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that Metro Manila will be among the areas that will revert to the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status beginning April 12 to April 30, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
Refresh your memory on the MECQ guidelines | Source: Pexels
This decision comes after the continuous clamor from exhausted medical frontliners and the relentless rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.
Aside from Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal will also be returning to MECQ status.
To refresh your memory, below are the updated guidelines from IATF.
General rules:
- Minimum public health standards shall be complied with at all times for the duration of the MECQ.
- Strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households, and the movement of all residents shall still be limited to accessing essential goods and services, and for work in permitted offices or establishments
- Any person below fifteen (15) years old and those who are over sixty five (65) years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women, including any person who resides with the aforementioned, shall be required to remain in their residences at all times, except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services, for work in industries and offices or such other activities permitted in this Section.
- Mass gatherings are prohibited.
- Face-to-face or in-person classes at all levels shall be suspended.
- Individual outdoor exercise such as outdoor walks, jogging, running or biking are allowed, but wearing face masks and observing social distancing are required.
Transportation
Public transportation shall be suspended during MECQ. Only commissioned shuttle services for employees of permitted offices or establishments, as well as point-to-point transport services provided by the government shall be allowed to operate, and medical frontliners will be prioritized.
Private transportation, such as company shuttles and personal vehicles utilized by persons authorized outside their residences, are allowed subject to the guidelines provided by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The use of bikes and other non-motorized transportation is strongly encouraged.
Malls and shopping centers
Limited operations for malls and shopping center are allowed, except for leisure establishments and services such as cinemas. Supermarkets and drugstores are among the establishments allowed to operate.
Hotels
On hotels or accommodation establishments with valid DOT Accreditation shall be allowed to accommodate guests and clients for legitimate purposes under a state of public health emergency
Hotel operations shall be limited to the provision of basic accommodation services to guests through an in-house skeleton workforce.
Ancillary establishments within the premises, such as restaurants, cafés, bars, gyms, spas, and the like, shall not be allowed to operate or to provide room service; Provided finally, that accommodation establishments may prepare: (a) packed meals for distribution to guests who opt for the same; and (b) food orders for take-out and delivery only
Construction projects
Essential and priority public and private construction projects shall be allowed, subject to compliance with the DPWH construction safety guidelines: Provided, however, that small scale-projects as defined by the DPWH shall not be allowed.
Businesses prohibited to operate during MECQ:
- Tourist destinations and reservation service and other related services (theme parks, water parks, etc.)
- Personal care services (facial care, massage parlors, sauna, etc.)
- Gyms, fitness centers, and sports facilities
- Entertainment industries (cinemas, karaoke bars, etc.)
- Kid amusement industries (amusement parks, playrooms, kiddy rides, etc.)
- Libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers
Industries are allowed to operate at full operational capacity:
- All establishments, persons, or activities permitted to operate, work, or be undertaken under the ECQ status
- Media establishments, without need of PCOO accreditation
- BPOs and export-oriented establishments, without need to set up onsite or near-site accommodation arrangements
- E-commerce companies
- Other postal and courier services, as well as delivery services for articles or products that were previously not allowed during ECQ*
*During ECQ only delivery of food, medicine, other essential goods, clothing, accessories, hardware, housewares, school and office supplies, and pet food and other veterinary products were allowed. - Rental and leasing, other than real estate, such as vehicles and equipment for permitted sector
- Employment activities that involve the recruitment and placement for permitted sectors
- Housing services activities, such as but not limited to plumbing, roofing, and electrical works
Industries allowed to operate at 50% operational capacity:
- Other manufacturing industries classified as beverages, including alcoholic drinks; electrical machinery; wood products and furniture; non-metallic products; textiles and clothing/wearing apparels; tobacco products; paper and paper products; rubber and plastic products; coke and refined petroleum products; other non-metallic mineral products; computers, electronic and optical products; electrical equipment; machinery and equipment; motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; other transport equipment; and others
- Other real estate activities
- Administrative and office support such as, but not limited to, providing photocopying and billing services
- Other financial services such as money exchange, insurance, reinsurance and non-compulsory pension funding
- Legal and accounting services;
- Management consultancy services or activities
- Architectural and engineering activities, including technical testing and analysis
- Science and technology, and research and development
- Recruitment and placement agencies for overseas employment
- Advertising and market research
- Computer programming and information management services
- Publishing and printing services
- Film, music and television production
- Photography, fashion, and industrial, graphic and interior design
- Wholesale and retail trade of vehicles and their parts and components
- Repair and maintenance of vehicles as well as its parts or components, including car wash services
- Malls and commercial centers, subject to the guidelines issued by the DTI
- Dining establishments and restaurants, but for delivery and take-out only
- Hardware stores
- Clothing and accessories
- Bookstore and school and office supplies
- Baby or infant care supplies
- Pet food and pet care supplies
- Information technology, communications and electronic equipment
- Flower, jewelry, novelty, antique and perfume shops; and
- Toy stores, provided that their playgrounds and amusement areas, if any, shall remain closed
- Firearms and ammunition trading establishments, subject to strict regulation of the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office
- Pastors, priests, rabbi, imams, and other religious ministers insofar as providing home religious services to households. Provided that proper protocols shall be observed, such as social distancing, wearing of face masks and the like.
The following are advised to operate with a skeleton workforce in combination with other alternative work arrangements, unless a different operational capacity is required such as health and emergency frontline services, border control, and other critical services:
- Government agencies and instrumentalities
- Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs)
- Local government units (LGUs)
- Accredited diplomatic missions and international organizations
Stay tuned to GMA News and Public Affairs programs for more news and updates on the community quarantine protocols.
For more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.
And for updates on the Coronavirus Disease pandemic, visit GMA's COVID-19 page.
You may also review the differences among the four types of community quarantine here.