Motorists from Marikina-Cainta flock to Manila early this morning, the first Monday of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). Slow traffic on Marcos Highway as of 5:30am | @gergcahiles pic.twitter.com/eF6leyHE9h
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) May 17, 2020
Senator Risa Hontiveros said testing employees reporting back to work is important because they may be silently carrying the virus.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 17) — Millions of employees began returning to work on Monday, two months after COVID-19 quarantine restrictions forced nonessential businesses to stop operations.
There is no requirement for all returning employees to undergo COVID-19 testing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Sunday. She said this is among the decisions of the national task force.
As workers go back to work, they not only have to protect themselves from the invisible threat of the coronavirus disease, they also have to face another grueling challenge: How to get to their workplaces when all public transportation remain closed.
Workers in Metro Manila, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales, Angeles City, and Laguna from select nonessential sectors are allowed to physically report back to their jobs after their areas transitioned from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to a looser modified ECQ on May 16.
“We have emphasized that symptomatic screening is ideal, and test only when symptomatic. IATF resolution stated that in no case shall testing be a condition for return to work,” she said in a Viber message to reporters.
Several sectors were allowed to partially operate in MECQ areas to restart the country’s economy. However, public transportation is prohibited from operating. The national government told employees to use private cars, motorcycles, or bicycles. Companies were also urged to provide transportation services to their employees.
The government is looking to jump-start the economy after a two-month lull. Overall economic output is expected to shrink by at least 2 percent this year, with the pandemic seen to have cost about ₱2 trillion in lost opportunities.
Mall employee Erickson Diego was spotted along Marcos Highway, which connects residents from Rizal to Metro Manila, early Monday morning. He said he was walking from his home to Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City.
“We need to test workers returning to work. This needs to be arranged by employers & DOH. Marami sa mga kaso walang sintomas. We cannot afford a second wave,” she said on Monday.
Workers were also seen awaiting rides along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
Meanwhile, employees with their own cars or motorcycles have to endure traffic jams and checkpoints.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque previously said companies should remain closed if they could not offer shuttle services to safely ferry their employees.
A mall employee says it's much harder to catch a ride to work now that Metro Manila is under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
He's been walking along Marcos Highway to find a way to get to Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City | @gergcahiles pic.twitter.com/rPSzYe6xKX
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) May 18, 2020
