AMID the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases nationwide, the government is now eyeing to make movement restrictions for unvaccinated individuals nationwide.
Acting presidential spokesman Karlo B. Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will discuss on Thursday the proposal of Presidential Adviser for Covid-19 Response Sec. Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon for the nationwide implementation of the policy laid down in a resolution by the Metro Manila Council (MMC).
Based on the said policy, MMC members will each come out with an ordinance, which will prohibit unvaccinated individuals from leaving their homes while the National Capital Region is under Alert Level 3.
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) earlier said the policy is meant to encourage people to get inoculated.
“The IATF will have a meeting tomorrow, and that’s one of the possible topics that we will be discussing,” Nograles said in a virtual press briefing last Wednesday.
He noted that local government units (LGU) in Calabarzon are considering replicating the initiative of the MMC.
Nograles noted that once the concerned LGUs come out with the necessary ordinance, authorities can legally prevent unvaccinated people from leaving their homes.
As of January 4, 2021, the government was only able to fully vaccinate 50.62 million of the country’s over 100 million population.
Nograles said they want more people to be inoculated to minimize their risk of hospitalization from Covid-related symptoms.
“Eighty-five percent of Covid-19 patients in our ICUs or intensive care units are unvaccinated. So vaccines are a big help to protect from Covid-19 and its variants,” Nograles said.
Double case log
As of Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) was able to register 10,775 new Covid-19 cases. This was almost double the 5,434 new cases the day before.
With the current trend, OCTA Research Group member Guido David said they expect daily new Covid-19 cases to reach the 20,000 mark next week.
DOH attributed the rise in Covid-19 cases to the increased social gathering and mobility during the Christmas celebration last month.
QC ordinance
Meanwhile, the Quezon City Council was the first Metro Manila MGU to pass an ordinance regulating the mobility of unvaccinated individuals.
The City Ordinance, which was approved on third and final reading, was introduced by Councilors Eric Medina, Franz Pumaren, Donny Matias, and Jun Ferrer, Jr. It was proposed after the Metro Manila Council issued Resolution No.22-01, series of 2022, urging local government units to enact ordinances for enhanced restrictions on unvaccinated individuals.
Following the resolution, the Ordinance states that non-fully vaccinated workers shall be required to undergo a Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test every two weeks at their personal expense and present a Covid-19 negative result prior to being admitted for work on site. If the RT-PCR test or result is not immediately available, a Rapid Antigen Test may be utilized.
However, the QC Council also added a provision giving employers the option to provide a non-fully vaccinated employee or worker a grace period of one month to obtain his/her first Covid-19 vaccination shot. As long as the employee obtains the first shot within the grace period, and subsequently obtains any required second shot as prescribed for the concerned vaccine, the employee shall not be required to take the bi-weekly test.
“This amendment to the resolution was added by the City Council in recognition of the prohibitive expense involved in obtaining an RT-PCR test and given the demographic profile of most unvaccinated persons in our City, which are those coming from our depressed communities,” Vice Mayor Gian Sotto said.
The City Council also added as an amendment that a person with a medical condition, which prevents full Covid-19 vaccination, may be exempted provided that his or her employer should submit a medical certification from a physician. The certification should include the contact number of the physician for verification purposes.
Violators of the Ordinance shall be charged with the following penalties; P500, P1,000 and P3,000, for the first, second, and third offense respectively.
An establishment found to be in violation, (including but not limited to allowing non-fully vaccinated persons to enter the establishment for non-essential reasons) faces these penalties: P3,000 for the first offense; P5,000, and suspension of business permit and temporary closure order for a second offense; and P5,000 and cancellation of business permit and closure order for the third offense.
Any individual or establishment that falsifies the Covid-19 vaccine card shall be prosecuted under Ordinance SP 3032-2021, also known as “Ordinance Prohibiting Covid-19 Vaccine Fraud,” without prejudice to prosecution under other applicable laws.
“We have to implement necessary measures to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 in our city, especially given that cases are rising, and with the presence of different variants in the country. We also appeal to those who are not yet vaccinated to get their shots as soon as they can because these vaccines are safe and they can protect you from getting critically ill from Covid-19. Those who have not yet received their booster shots are encouraged to do the same,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.