What I Can Do

Task 4. Defining Community Quarantines

Quarantine is a state or place of isolation for a person or animal that may have come into contact
with contagious diseases. It helps prevent the spread of disease that can occur before a person
knows that they are ill or that they are infected with the virus without symptoms. As a measure to limit
the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines, lockdowns, officially labeled as "community quarantines"
by the government, of varying rigor have been imposed in many parts of the country. These are the
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Modified ECQ, General Community Quarantine (GCQ), or
Modified GCQ.

ECQ is a hard lockdown where everyone remains at home and is the strictest form of quarantine.
Think of it as stage 4 of Quarantine. With the exception of critical staff and medical frontlines, there is
no public transportation allowed. No major gatherings are permitted. An MECQ is a lockdown wherein
most people are asked to stay at home except for essential workers, medical front liners, and those
working in exempted offices and businesses. Think of it as Quarantine Level 3. Next, there's the
GCQ. Think of it as stage 2 of Quarantine. The majority of individuals are required to leave their
homes for work. However, people under the age of 21 and over the age of 60 or those at high risk of
developing a serious form of COVID-19 are expected to remain at home. The fourth one is the
MGCQ. Think of this as Quarantine Level 1. At this quarantine level, everything that is allowed during
the GCQ is allowed. In addition, 50 per cent of the seating or venue capacity is allowed for film
screenings, concerts, sporting events and other entertainment activities, religious services and work
conferences. Full working capacity in all public and private offices is permitted.

Considering the 9,199 covid cases in Northern Mindanao, I think GCQ would be the most
appropriate. GCQ is actually already implemented here in the city. Full operation is permitted for
agriculture, fisheries and forestry, food manufacturing and all supply chains, including ink, packaging
and raw materials, supermarkets, hospitals, logistics, water, energy, the internet, telecommunications
and media. As for financial services, business process outsourcing (BPO), non-rental wholesale and
retail trade, and other non-rental services, 50 per cent on-site work and 50 per cent home work is
permitted. The general population can only leave their homes to access basic necessities. However,
people between the ages of 0 and 20 and those between the ages of 60 and above must stay at
home. People with risk factors such as lung and heart disease and diabetes cannot leave. Mass
transportation will resume but only at a limited capacity.