Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said one of the reasons why the government's pandemic task force decided to relax quarantine age restrictions was because other countries were not restricting the movement of children despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Nograles made the statement after the Inter-Agency Task Force (IAF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed those aged 10 to 65 to go outside their homes in areas under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and even urged local governments in GCQ areas to follow suit.
In a radio interview, Nograles, who co-chairs the IATF, said looking at the policies of other countries was one of the factors that led to the task force's decision.
He noted that the Philippines turns out to be the strictest when it came to restricting the movement of children during the pandemic.
"Sa ibang bansa 'di sila ganoon kasing restrictive po natin sa galaw ng mga kabataan (Other countries are not as restrictive as us when it comes to the movement of children)," he told Super Radyo DZBB Sunday.
"Sa ibang bansa 'di nila kinukulong ang mga bata sa loob ng tahanan at nire-restrict ang movement ng mga bata (In other countries, the children are not being locked inside their homes and their movements are not being restricted)," he added.
Another reason for relaxing the age restriction, according to Nograles, was the absence of a surge of COVID-19 cases when the government relaxed the age limit from 18- to 60-years-old to 15- to 65-years-old.
"Wala naman tayong nakitang surge pagdating doon, siguro dahil medyo lahat ng 15 to 65 alam po nila safety at health protocols (We didn't see any surge when it comes to that – maybe because those aged 15 to 65 know the safety and health protocols)," he said.
"Naunawaan nila at nako-comply nila ang health and safety protocols ng face mask face shield hugas ng kamay at social distancing (They understand and are complying with the protocol of wearing face mask and face shield, proper handwashing, and physical distancing)," he added.
Nograles added that the IATF also saw that the surge of COVID-19 cases following the holidays was manageable, making them decide to allow younger people to go outside their homes.
Meanwhile, the Palace official said the IATF will release a clarificatory resolution that states that children who will be going outside their homes should be accompanied by their parents.