Calls for the entire country to be placed under the least restricted modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in the midst of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is up for the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to decide.
This was pointed out by DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya on Wednesday, after several government agencies proposed that the country be reverted to MGCQ to open up the economy.
On February 15, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Chua stressed that his proposal to place the country under MGCQ is meant to minimize poverty and mitigate income loss as the pandemic has taken its toll in the country’s economy.
Chua’s recommendation came on the heels of the IATF on Emerging Infectious Diseases' decision to slowly reopen businesses and tourist spots in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) in a bid to reinvigorate the country’s economic which has been reeling due to the pandemic.
The government’s pandemic response task force has allowed the re-opening of cinemas and other select establishments albeit under limited capacity in GCQ areas but the Metro Manila mayors deferred their implementation citing that COVID-19 is still dangerously lurking in the background.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced last week that cinemas, driving schools, video and interactive game arcades, libraries, archives, museums, cultural centers, meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions and limited social events of establishments accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) are allowed to operate again in areas under GCQ.
He explained that the country’s economy needs to be opened further for the public to gain some livelihood.
With regards to the proposal to allow the LGUs to directly purchase their COVID-19 doses, Malaya emphasized that this is not possible since the present vaccines are still under the food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA).
“Therefore, under the terms of the emergency use, the vaccine manufacturers will only sell to the national government and not to the LGUs. Once the FDA issues a CPR (certification of product registration), we will have no objection since the vaccines are now available commercially and the LGUs can now buy directly,’’ Malaya concluded.