(Eagle News) – A two-week ban on religious and mass gatherings took effect on Monday, March 22, in the General Community Quarantine bubble of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
The prohibition on religious gatherings was decided upon as the Philippines recorded successive record number of COVID-19 cases daily, with active cases breaching 80,000.
“Ipinagbabawal po ang lahat ng mass at public gatherings kasama na po ang religious gatherings. Iyong tinatawag po nating KBL – Kasal, Binyag at Libing – ay pinapayagan po pero hanggang sampung tao lang po ang pupuwedeng dumalo (All mass and public gatherings, including religious gatherings are prohibited. What we call KBL [in the vernacular] – wedding, baptisms and funerals — are allowed but limited to 10 persons could attend)” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Sunday, March 21.
“Uulitin ko po: Wala pong mass gatherings, kasama ang religious gatherings, ang KBL po hanggang sampung katao lamang (I repeat po. There would be no mass gatherings, including religious gatherings, and the KBL events are limited to up to 10 persons only)” he said.
This is among a slew of restrictions for the GCQ bubble in Metro Manila and the surrounding four provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal meant to stop the spread of highly infectious variants – the UK and South African variants – of which cases have been increasing in the Philippine capital.
The restrictions will last until April 4.
These are contained in the resolution no. 104 of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) which has been approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.
-Avoiding super-spreaders as variant cases rise-
Roque, on Monday, March 22, said the presence of the highly infectious variants in Metro Manila and other areas is one of the reasons for the spike in cases. Mass gatherings, he said, are super-spreader events that should be avoided for now.
“Well unang-una po, iyong ating mga bagong variants nandiyan na po sila. Tapos mayroon din po tayong datos na mababa po iyong ating masking compliance. At nagkakaroon din po tayo ng mga super spreader events, gatherings at saka mga poor ventilation. At siyempre po, mayroon na rin po tayong reduced surveillance, reduced contact tracing at delayed testing. So iyan po ang babawiin natin muli dito sa susunod na dalawang linggo,” he said in a Malacanang press briefing on Monday.
Roque continues to hold press briefings via Zoom as he is himself COVID-19 positive, albeit asymptomatic.
-Religious service via online encouraged-
Philippine officials encouraged holding religious services through online or virtual means.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Benhur Abalos underscored how critical this is. He said even the events in the Catholic Church at this time such as their so-called “pabasa” should be done virtually.
Before the GCQ travel bubble was declared in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, the Palace announced that there will be a limited 30 percent capacity in religious gatherings, down from the previous 50 percent of a venue’s seating capacity in Metro Manila due to rising COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, as new records in daily cases were reported, the IATF said that gatherings would be banned from March 22 to April 4 in the GCQ bubble.
(Eagle News Service)