(File photo)
MANILA – People aged 10 to 65 can now go outside of their homes beginning February, so long as they are in areas placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Malacañang announced on Friday.
This developed after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the recommendation to relax age-based restrictions for areas placed under MGCQ, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
“Pupwede na pong lumabas ang mga batang nasa edad na 10 taong gulang at senior citizens na hanggang 65 years old (Children aged 10 and above, and senior citizens aged 60 to 65 are now allowed to leave their residences),” Roque said in a video aired on state-run PTV-4.
Roque said individuals below 10 years old and over 65 years of age are still required to remain in their residence “at all times.”
He said local government units (LGUs) are enjoined to adopt the easing of age restrictions for areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
“‘Yung mga lokal na pamahalaan naman po sa mga lugar na GCQ or general community quarantine eh hinihikayat po natin na sana payagan na rin lumabas ‘yung 10 to 65. Pero uulitin ko po, desisyon pa rin po iyan ng mga lokal na pamahalaan (Local governments in GCQ zones are encouraged to also allow those aged 10 to 65 to leave their homes. However, the decision will still come from the local governments),” Roque said.
Initially, only persons aged 15 to 65 are allowed to go out of their homes.
On Tuesday, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he would ask the IATF-EID to let children as young as 10 years old leave their residences to help spur the economic activities in the country amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Lopez said 10-year-old children should be allowed to go to malls with their parents since they are also able to comply with the minimum health protocols.
He also noted that families accounted for 30 percent to 50 percent of outdoor consumption, based on the feedback his office received from malls and restaurants.
Lopez’s proposal backed the recent call of Socioeconomic Planning Karl Kendrick Chua to let more children leave their homes to revive the Philippine economy.
Chua earlier said restrictions on children and family activities, which dampen demand for non-essential services, are dragging down the recovery of the country’s economy. (PNA)
