By Armando Fenequito Jr.
DAVAO CITY -- The city government will be implementing strict guidelines of the existing quarantine here to ensure that the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Mayor Sara Duterte (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
This after Mayor Sara Z. Duterte released Executive Order No. 20 series of 2020 or “An Order Providing for Additional Guidelines in the Implementation of Community Quarantine beginning 5 a.m. Thursday, March 26, until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, April 19, 2020 unless further extended, modified or withdrawn.”
Duterte said wearing of face masks will be mandatory when going out in public. Face masks with face shield are encouraged.
She said no person can come out from their residence, dwelling, and its immediate surroundings except those who will buy food or medicine, go to the hospital or in an emergency situation.
“No minors, senior citizens, pregnant women, sick and immunocompromised individuals can go out of the residence except to go to the hospital, medical or allied medical institutions,” she said.
The mayor said in her order the epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist doctors have asked her to keep people in their homes to arrest the spread of the infection in a community quarantine and lockdown.
She said there was still a need for some business establishments and offices to continue operations and allow employees to come for work.
She said Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Call Centers have two options only based on the mandate of Department of Trade and Industry Memorandum Circular 20-08 Series 2020,
Duterte said the BPO may either implement skeletal workforce with social distancing and appropriate temporary accommodation arrangements within the vicinity and with shuttle service or work from home arrangements.
“If BPOs or call centers cannot comply with either of the two options, it shall be closed down immediately,” the mayor said.
She said manufacturing, fabrication, construction, agri-business and other similar sectors should reduce workload and extend their deadlines to significantly reduce laborers in the job site and to create a two meter distance between laborers.
The mayor said all establishments and offices must be closed, except government offices, groceries, supermarkets, wet markets, “palengkes”, food commissaries, food manufacturing, food delivery services, wholesale stores, convenience stores, sari-sari stores, hospitals, medical laboratories, pharmacies, drugstores, banks and ATMs, savings and credit cooperatives, money-transfer services and bayad centers, courier services, other delivery services, construction hardware, doctor's and dentist’s clinics, gas stations, water refilling stations, LPG stations, and business process outsourcing or call centers.
She said whenever possible, a skeletal workforce arrangement must be implemented to create distancing between employees.
The mayor said all other business establishments and private offices not mentioned are required to shift to online work and implement a work at home scheme;
Duterte said all business establishments and private offices should hire augmentation security personnel for their facilities.
She said all restaurants, cafes, bakeries and other similar food establishments should close down their dining area and open only for take-out, in-house delivery or food delivery services.
“ All wet markets (palengkes) must have an entrance, exit and one way direction for people to go through. People cannot turn around and go back and cannot roam around the wet markets or palengkes,” she said.
The mayor said sari-sari stores must not allow people to stay and loiter, and must be closed during the curfew hours from 9:00 p.m. up to 5:00 a.m while ambulant food and non-food vendors are prohibited to sell anywhere.
She said jeepney drivers should continue to work for the government by providing public transportation service, sanitation of jeepney units, implementation of social distancing and wearing of masks in public.
“Taxis shall accommodate a maximum of 2 passengers only per trip. Tricycles and trisikads shall carry 1 passenger only per trip,” she said.
She said funeral parlors and private and public cemeteries are mandated to impose a "family members only" wake and burial and times demand compliance and observance of two meter distance between family members at all as well as frequent handwashing with soap and water.
The mayor said the city will provide ration cards those heads of families that are indigent, contractual employee with no work no pay scheme, self-employed or with significant loss or reduction of income due to the state of public health emergency and state of calamity caused by COVID-19,
Duterte said all public and private educational institutions should prepare for online enrollment procedures and the possibility of online classes for the months of April to July 2020.
She said backyard cockfighting should be prosecuted under existing laws and regulations in the country
The mayor said all private hospitals in Davao City are not allowed to admit Patients Under Investigation (PUI) and Covid-19 positive patients.
She said the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) should be the primary hospital for severe and critical Covid-19 PUI and positive patients. Other centers available for mild PUIs shall receive patients referred to the said hospital.
Duterte said pharmacies and drugstores are requested to accept prescriptions that are in the form of text messages wherein the sender is 911 to cater to patients who are accommodated by volunteer doctors conducting telemedicine in the city in coordination with 911;
The mayor said In the absence of a doctor's prescription, pharmacies and drugstores are requested to allow senior citizens or their duly authorized representatives to avail of their senior citizens' discount with the presentation of only their purchase orders/booklets and senior citizens’ ID.
Cargo trucks and vehicles are allowed to enter the Davao Region provided that there is no assistant and the driver cannot go down the truck. The final destination must be within regionn and assistants may be unloaded at the checkpoint to wait for the truck to come back and leave here.
“For purposes of this Order, “Cargo” shall mean to include animals, vegetables all other non-living things but not dead human bodies,” she said.
The mayor said the schedule of the ban of trucks along the highways will also be lifted.
Duterte said empty cargo vehicles may come in to pick up cargo inside the region with only one driver only and no assistants.
All sea vessels can unload cargo in any port in the region but all personnel and crew of the vessels are prohibited to come down from the vessels.
The mayor said the 10th Infantry Division and Police Regional Office 11 should divide the areas of all highways in the region and assign which unit should secure the area for the protection of people and cargo traveling on the highways.
“Anyone can leave the city at any time but cannot come back during the quarantine period,” she said.