Malacañang on Friday reminded the public that operation of hair salons and barbershops, as well as the conduct of public Masses, would still be prohibited under the general community quarantine which will take effect on June 1.
“Hindi pa po (It is still not allowed),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Thursday night that Metro Manila, Davao City, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Pangasinan, and Albay would shift to a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) beginning June 1, while the rest of the country would be put under modified GCQ.
“Sa ngayon po, wala pa pong approval pero nagkaroon naman po sila ng konsultasyon. Inaasahan po natin na pag-uusapan muli itong mga issue ng barberya,” he said.
[For now, there is no approval yet but there was a consultation. We expect that the issue on barbershops would once again be tackled.]
Under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ, and GCQ, operations of barbershops and salons were not permitted as a precaution against the Covid-19 outbreak.
Roque, however, dangled the possibility that they may be allowed to operate in areas under GCQ, so long as strict physical distancing is observed.
“Inaasahan naman po natin na sa GCQ, magkakaroon tayo ng sistema ng accreditation, ngayong may sapat na kakayahan para mag-obserba ng minimum hygiene standards ay baka pupwede pong mag-operate,” he said.
[We expect that in areas under GCQ, there would be an accreditation to allow them to operate, now that there is the capability to observe minimum hygiene standards).]
Meanwhile, Roque reiterated that only a maximum of 10 participants are allowed to attend religious activities in areas under GCQ. He said there might be changes in the existing guidelines for the conduct of religious gatherings following the IATF-EID’s consultation with church leaders.
“Nagkaroon na rin po tayo ng dialogue sa parte ng IATF at ng mga religious at napaka-detalyado naman po ng kanilang proposal. So inaasahan ko, gaya ng barbero ay baka magkaroon po ng desisyon ang IATF,” he reported.
[The IATF had a dialogue with religious leaders and the latter presented a very comprehensive proposal. So I expect that just like the barbershops, the IATF would come up with a decision on the conduct of religious activities.]
