Here are the differences between enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine.
Refer to the table below to differentiate GCQ from ECQ.
| Enhanced Community Quarantine | General Community Quarantine |
|---|---|
| High-risk areas (spread of COVID) | Low to Moderate risk areas (spread of COVID) |
| Stringent Quarantine Measures until May 15, 2020 | Relaxed quarantine Measures starting May 1 |
| Public Transport is suspended | Public Transport are allowed but reduced |
| Only essential establishments are allowed to operate like hospitals, grocery | 50%-100% reopening of select establishments subject to minimum health standards |
General Community Quarantine (GCQ)
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved to place the following areas under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting May 1, 2020, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on April 23, 2020.
Those GCQ areas shall observe the following:
- Select workers will be allowed to go out and work in phases
- Those aged below 21 and above 60, and high health risk individuals shall continue to stay at home
- Partial opening of non-leisure shops and malls
- Mandatory temperature check
- Mandatory wearing of masks, and mandatory use of alcohol
- Resumption of classes in higher education institutions
- Resumption of priority and essential construction projects
- Resumption of public transportation at a reduced capacity
- Curfew for non-workers
- Continued unhampered movement of goods
Reopening of operations in GCQ areas by industry
Here are the industries to be reopened in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting May 1, 2020, subject to minimum health standards to be released by the Department of Health, such as social distancing and sanitary measures.
As of April 24, 2020
Category 1: 100% opening
Sectors working under Agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors, food manufacturing and all supply chains, including ink, packaging and raw materials, supermarkets, hospitals, logistics, water, energy, internet, telecommunications, and media.
Category 2: 50 - 100% opening
Workers under the manufacturing, electronics, and exports, e-commerce, and delivery for essential and non-essential items, repair and maintenance services, housing, and office services;
Category 3: 50% on site work, 50% work from home
Workers under Financial services, business process outsourcing (BPO), non-leisure wholesale and retail trade, and other non-leisure services
Restrictions on operations in GCQ areas by industry
Here are the industries that will remain closed, even in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Limited opening for malls mean only non-leisure stores are allowed. For the construction industry, only priority and essential projects are allowed to resume.
Category 4: 100% closure
Sectors working in schools, leisure, gaming fitness, kid industry, tourism, construction (in consideration from DPWH guidelines), all gathering s including religious conferences, malls and construction ( limited opening).
Areas under GCQ in the Cordillera
Here are the areas covered by the GCQ in the Cordillera Administrative Region starting May 1, 2020.
Moderate and low-risk areas:
- Abra
- Apayao
- Ifugao
- Kalinga (including Tabuk City)
- Mountain Province
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has extended the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in these areas until May 15, 2020 as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on April 23, 2020 due to the high threat posed by COVID-19 in the areas.
Following the 15th of May, the government will again re-evaluate for the next course of action.
The approval of minimum health standard guidelines to be implemented by April 27, 2020 was also recommended by the IATF-EID.
Hospital, testing, and hygiene guidelines shall be crafted by the Department of Health, while the Department of Transportation shall recommend the guidelines on public transportation. The Department of Trade and Industry will formulate the guidelines for employers, while the Department of Labor and Employment shall be in charge of the guidelines for laborers. Lastly, the Department of Public Works and Highways shall create the guidelines for infrastructure construction.
Areas covered by the extended ECQ in the Cordillera
Here are the areas covered by the extended ECQ in the Cordillera Administrative Region starting May 1, 2020.
High-risk areas:
- Benguet (including Baguio City)
Sources:
