Luzon residents may walk or ride a bike when venturing outside their homes for essential needs during the quarantine period, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Nograles made the statement after the government suspended public transportation as part of the quarantine measures in the country’s main island of Luzon.
“Walking or biking is allowed,” Nograles, spokesman of the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases, said during the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.
“All public transportation are not allowed to operate, such as tricycles, pedicabs, taxis/Grab, jeepneys, buses, including MRT/LRT,” he added.
Local government units and employers are urged to provide point-to-point transportation for people authorized to report for work, especially health workers.
The Department of Transportation and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration ma also provide transport services for concerned workers, Nograles said.
As the government seeks to ensure adequate food supply in Luzon, Nograles reaffirmed that movement of cargo through air, land and sea must remain “unhampered.”
“Cargo trucks and vans should not be blocked from entering the ports, expressways or highways,” he said.
Concerned about the sharp increase in coronavirus infections, President Duterte has placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine that requires millions of Filipinos to stay at home to curb the outbreak. (Genalyn Kabiling)
