'Tiny Bubbles' to Further Limit ECQ Movement in Metro Manila
Movement in Metro Manila will be restricted with "tiny bubbles" of individual cities and municipalities instead of one collective bubble during the 15-day lockdown that starts Aug. 6, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said.
This effectively bars inter-city travel save for a few exceptions, unlike the MECQ earlier this year when people can move freely inside the NCR Plus Bubble -- Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna. Eleazar said police would man checkpoints along city borders.
"'Pag nagkaroon na po tayo ng ECQ, 'yung dating malaking bubble, magiging individual bubble na po 'yan bawat city, parang tiny bubbles na 'yan, na 'yung ating mga checkpoints na 'yun, ang babantayan na natin ay 'yung mga siyudad na," Eleazar told TeleRadyo on Wednesday.
Eleazar said there are three kinds of authorized persons outside residences (APOR):
- Worker APOR, who are authorized to cross city boundaries for work purposes.
- Consumer APOR, who can go out for essential goods.
- Other APOR who will attend to emergencies and other medical considerations.
Only worker APORs with work-related travel can go to other cities during the lockdown.
Consumer APORs who will go out for essentials can go to supermarkets, banks, drugstores and other establishments within their city only, he told a regular press briefing at the Palace on Thursday.
"For other APOR, itong mga emergency, may bakuna, so allowed sila for example meron kang chemotherapy, lilipat ka ng city, okay 'yun. Pero kung bibili ka lang ng gamot, pupunta ka sa bangko o bibili ka ng pagkain, [bawal]."
Those who will get vaccinated outside their city will have to present a document indicating their vaccination schedule and will be allowed interzonal travel, he said.