Guidelines for travel in ECQ, GCQ areas beginning May 1, 2020

Malacañang on Thursday released the travel guidelines for areas under enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine beginning on May 1.

The guidelines will apply to the transit of people and goods from an ECQ area to a GCQ area and vice versa, and an area not under community quarantine to a GCQ or ECQ area, and vice versa, according to the government.

Transit across localities in the same community quarantine setup will be treated as movements within a single GCQ or ECQ zone.

• Non-essential entry and exit of people to and from the ECQ zone shall be prohibited, except for the following:

1. health workers
2. government officials and government frontline personnel
3. those traveling for medical or humanitarian reasons
4. persons transiting to the airport for travel abroad
5. workers in permitted establishments and persons providing essential goods and services and public utilities
6. essential skeletal workforce
7. repatriated OFWs and non-OFWs returning to their residences
8. other persons transported through the efforts of the national government upon conduct of the necessary quarantine protocols and in concurrence with the receiving local government units

• Movement of all types of cargoes by land, air, or sea within and across areas placed under ECQ or GCQ shall be unhampered.

Workers in the logistics sector, such as cargo, trucking, and port operations shall also be allowed to transit across areas placed under ECQ or GCQ, provided that only a maximum of five personnel may operate cargo and delivery vehicles by land, with or without load.

LGUs and local health units (LHUs) are enjoined not to issue orders contrary to or inconsistent with said directive, such as, but not limited to, requiring asymptomatic drivers and crew of cargo or service delivery vehicles to undergo mandatory 14-day home quarantine.

• Land, air or sea travel by uniformed personnel and government officials and employees for official business, with the corresponding travel authority, especially those transporting medical supplies and laboratory specimens related to COVID-19, and other relief and humanitarian assistance, shall be allowed.
• FWs, permanent residents of foreign jurisdictions, and stranded foreign nationals may leave for abroad through any of the airports or seaports in areas placed under ECQ or GCQ without any impediment.

Departing passengers may be accompanied by not more than one person when traveling to any international port, who shall be allowed to return to his/her point of origin.

• Repatriated OFWs or returning non-OFWs who have been issued a DOH or LGU certificate of completion of fourteen 14-day facility-based quarantine, or those who may be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day home quarantine shall be granted unhampered transit across zones en route to their final destination in the Philippines.

LGUs are enjoined to allow maritime vessels or aircraft transporting the aforementioned OFWs and non-OFWs to dock or land at their ports of destination. — RSJ, GMA News