Metro Manila still under Alert Level 4 until Oct 15

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More sectors in Metro Manila were allowed to operate with expanded operations under Alert Level 4 from Oct 1 to 15.
  • Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 4 while several provinces were placed under modified enhanced community quarantine from October 1 to 15
  • More sectors allowed to operate with expanded operations
  • The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases released an updated list of countries/jurisdictions/territories on the green, yellow and red lists for Oct 1-15
  • IATF did not object to the proposal of the Airline Operators Council for triangulated international arrival flights to different gateways

Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 4 while several provinces were placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from October 1 to 15.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on September 30 approved the extension of the alert level system being piloted in Metro Manila, first introduced on September 16.

The second strictest alert level, Level 4 covers areas where case counts are high and/or increasing, and where total bed and intensive care unit utilization rates are high.

Under Alert Level 4, the IATF approved expansion by an additional 10 percentage points to 20% the allowable indoor capacities of dine-in services, in-person religious services, and personal care services for fully vaccinated individuals.

Fitness studios and gyms may reopen at a limited 20% capacity for fully vaccinated individuals, provided all gym workers are also fully vaccinated. Both clients and service providers should wear face mask at all times and no group activities will be allowed.

Establishments awarded the Safety Seal Certification are allowed an additional venue capacity of 10% beyond the prescribed venue or seating capacity.

In other areas, Apayao, Kalinga, Batanes, Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Lucena City, Rizal, Laguna, Naga City and Iloilo Province will be under MECQ from October 1 to 15.

Under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions from October 1 to 31 are the following:

  • Abra
  • Baguio City
  • Ilocos Sur
  • Pangasinan
  • Cagayan
  • Isabela
  • City of Santiago, Isabela
  • Nueva Vizcaya
  • Quirino
  • Quezon
  • Batangas
  • Bacolod City
  • Capiz
  • Iloilo City
  • Lapu-Lapu City
  • Negros Oriental
  • Bohol
  • Zamboanga del Norte
  • Zamboanga del Sur
  • Cagayan de Oro City
  • Misamis Oriental
  • Davao del Norte
  • Davao Occidental
  • Butuan City
  • Surigao del Sur

Davao de Oro will also be under GCQ with heightened restrictions but only from October 1-15.

Under plain GCQ from October 1-31 are Ilocos Norte, Dagupan City, Benguet, Ifugao, Tarlac, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa, Albay and Camarines Norte for Luzon.

For the Visayas, under GCQ are Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Cebu City, Cebu Province, Mandaue City, Siquijor and Tacloban City.

And for Mindanao, those under GCQ are Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City, Misamis Occidental, Iligan City, Davao City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Cotabato City and Lanao del Sur.

The rest of the Philippines will remain under modified GCQ.

International travel restrictions

The IATF also released its updated list of countries/jurisdictions/territories that belong to the green, yellow and red lists for October 1-15.

Bermuda is the only country on the red list, while 49 countries are on the green list. These are: American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.

All other remaining countries/jurisdictions/territories are on the yellow list.

Green list countries and jurisdictions are considered low risk for COVID-19 based on their disease incidence rate while those on yellow list are classified as moderate risk. Countries and jurisdictions under the red list are considered high-risk.

Lastly, the IATF recognized the jurisdiction of the Civil Aeronautics Board over air rights agreements in the Philippines and posed no objection to the proposal of the Airline Operators Council for triangulated international arrival flights to different gateways, which CAB may approve on a per airline basis.