Mayor wants stricter quarantine rules due to COVID-19 Delta variant

22 July 2021 – The Baguio City Police Office together with the Public Order and Safety Division of the City Mayor’s Office were ordered anew to monitor the public’s compliance to existing community quarantine measures.

Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong reminded the BCPO and POSD to ensure compliance to minimum public health standards particularly among establishments in the central business district down to the barangay level after the national Interagency Taskforce on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) confirmed local transmission of the delta variant – a more transmissible type of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Per the latest announcement from the IATF-EID, Baguio City is still under the General Community Quarantine status which means restricted mobility and controlled operational capacity among establishments.

Under Executive Order No. 51 series of 2021, all persons below the age of 15 or over the age of 65 shall stay at home except to avail of essential goods or services, attend work in permitted industries, seek medical attention and attend to permitted activities.

Minors below the age of 15 who shall leave home to avail of essential services or permitted activities must be accompanied by parents or guardians at all times. Minors are not allowed to enter enclosed crowded spaces such as groceries, supermarkets, cinemas and the like where the number of persons exceeds 30 percent more than the capacity.

The maximum capacity for food and beverage retail establishments with dine-in service is 50% including gyms, fitness centers, salons, spas and personal care facilities and accommodation establishments among others.

For gatherings, the maximum capacity is still at 30 percent of the venue’s capacity.

Mayor Magalong also reminded employers to give considerations to their employees who are immunocompromised, pregnant and over the age of 65 for them not to be assigned to client-facing tasks and duties and shall be prioritized to avail of alternative work arrangements.

General curfew hours start 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM except those working in frontline services, permitted industries, and businesses that require operations beyond the curfew such as medical services, uniformed personnel on duty, security services, Business Process Outsourcing industries, and export-oriented industries. Meanwhile, pharmacies, grocery stores and other establishments for medicine, food and essential commodities may be allowed to operate beyond curfew hours for take-out or delivery services only.

Work in government offices may be at full operational capacity but heads of office are encouraged to adopt alternative work arrangements such as 50% alternate on-site capacity or any other scheme that may be deemed proper in accordance with relevant rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission.

Baguio has been under GCQ since January 2021 and restrictions have not been lifted, however, Mayor Magalong wants stricter implementation and monitoring due to the threat of the delta variant. – Jessa Samidan