The San Juan City local government announced on Monday, Jan. 3, that it will pass an ordinance restricting the movement of unvaccinated individuals as the country faces a new surge in COVID-19 cases due to the previous holiday season fueled by the Omicron and Delta COVID-19 variants.
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora bared this during the vaccination program at the FilOil Flying V Centre and the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination registration for children aged 5-11 years old in the city.
Zamora said the ordinance will prohibit unvaccinated individuals from exiting their homes, except for buying essentials and medical reasons, as well as from entering establishments such as malls and restaurants.
The mayor added that the city council is still finalizing the implementing rules and regulations of the said ordinance, but assured that any establishment found guilty of letting unvaccinated people inside their premises will face sanctions.
Zamora clarified that the ordinance is not made to discriminate against unvaccinated individuals but to protect the greater good. He added that there is no reason for people to not get vaccinated as San Juan City has an ample supply.
Zamora had earlier said that the Metro Manila Council (MMC), comprised of the 17 mayors of Metro Manila and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), held a meeting on Sunday, Jan. 2, to discuss about the national government's decision to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under Alert Level 3 starting Monday, Jan. 3 up to Jan. 15 after experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
After the meeting, the MMC agreed on the "Enhanced Vaccine Mandate" which aims to further increase the number of individuals inoculated against COVID-19 and halt the spread of the virus, especially with the detection of its heavily-mutated Omicron variant.