Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 28) — An infectious diseases expert has raised concerns about the recent decision of the government to allow standing passengers in public utility vehicles (PUVs), albeit in a limited capacity.
Dr. Rontgene Solante told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Wednesday that being in a place where people are incapable of distancing from each other will always pose health risks, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing.
He said people are at a greater risk of infection when they are complacent about wearing face masks in public.
“That will always be a problem dahil nandoon ka sa loob na siksikan, wala ng distance na mataas. May isa na inubo or sinipon lang, especially if some of them are not wearing a face mask, talagang may magkakahawaan diyan,” Solante said.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ Traffic Center later in the day, an LTFRB official said the memorandum is a dynamic policy that was coordinated with other government agencies, particularly the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Health department.
[Translation: That will always be a problem when you’re in a cramped space, and there is not much distancing. If one passenger coughs or has colds, and if some others are not wearing a face mask, there will definitely be a transmission.]
Solante said in order to keep oneself protected from the virus, one must continue wearing face masks inside PUVs.
“Pag makita mong may ganyan na walang face mask and ikaw meron kang face mask, you just have to wear your face mask, you have to protect yourself, parang kanya-kanya na and para di tayo mahawaan.”
[Translation: If you see a passenger not wearing a face mask and you have your own, just keep wearing your face mask, you have to protect yourself, we have to look out for ourselves just so we can be safe from transmission.]
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently issued a memorandum allowing low-entry or low-floor public utility buses (PUBs) to have up to 15 standing passengers, and only 10 for coach-type PUBs. Modern public utility jeepneys-class 2, on the other hand, can only have five standing passengers. These will all be applicable for areas under Alert Level 1, including Metro Manila.
The standing passengers in PUVs must maintain a distance of at least one person apart.
COVID-19 cases in the country have been increasing over the past few weeks, but Solante noted that this is not directly connected to the eased mask mandate outdoors.
“Partly, there’s a contribution pero tingin ko (but I think) it’s more people who are going out, more people in meetings, gatherings which come at the expense of these highly transmissible subvariants,” he said. “We need to emphasize that even if [a case] is mild, we should not be complacent about it.”
The Department of Health said in its latest weekly COVID-19 case bulletin that a 22% increase in new infections in the past week was logged.
The agency said the daily average of cases last week was 2,556 new infections.
“[T]he allowing of the (standing) passengers is also contingent to the alert level of COVID-19 as declared by the IATF and the Department of Health,” LTFRB board member Riza Marie Paches explained. “We have consulted also the Department of Health on this one, that is why the allowed number of passengers is only limited.”
She also noted that some of the units are designed to accommodate standing passengers.
To ensure that the new policy is being followed, Paches said enforcers from the LTFRB, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic have been deployed along EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, and other major thoroughfares.
The LTFRB board member also reiterated that they are not suspending the wearing of face masks in PUVs.
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