The government is tightening the mobility restrictions for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), barring them after 30 days from using public transport, according to the Departments of Transportation (DOTr), Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In a joint decision, the three agencies said the move aims to encourage workers to get their Covid-19 jabs and help increase the vaccination rates in the country, which is still currently experiencing a spike in new infections per day.
Transportation Undersecretary for Administrative Service and official representative to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Artemio Tuazon Jr. said workers have until February 25 to get fully vaccinated in order to “continue riding public transportation and public utility vehicles [PUVs] in entering, exiting, and going around the metropolis.”
“This is to ensure that only those fully protected against Covid-19 are safe from using public transport. Data show that workers who remain unvaccinated against the virus that causes Covid-19 are more vulnerable to severe and critical infections,” Tuazon said.
The new rule, he added, covers both formal and informal economies. The same exemptions—those boarding public transport to buy essential goods, for medical purposes, and individuals that are medically incapacitated to get the vaccine—still apply.
“We want our workers to get fully vaccinated, especially now that there is no longer a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, and there is a threat of highly transmissible variants of the virus. We are giving our workers the time to get themselves vaccinated,” he said.
Tuazon noted, however, that unvaccinated workers may still come to their workplaces, but through other transport means, claiming that this move is “not discriminatory.”
“They are simply not allowed to use public transportation, but can still use other means such as active transport, private vehicles, or company shuttle services,” he said.
The new policy will be in effect as long as the capital region is under Alert Level 3 or higher.
“Once we deescalate to Alert Level 2, the policy will be automatically lifted,” Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran noted.
The DOTr earlier implemented the “No Vaccination, No Ride Policy,” which essentially bars unvaccinated individuals from riding public utility vehicles while Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3 for Covid-19.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes