{"id":254169,"date":"2020-05-07T06:32:48","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T10:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=254169"},"modified":"2020-05-07T06:32:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T10:32:48","slug":"iatf-okays-interim-guidelines-for-workplaces-malls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/05\/07\/iatf-okays-interim-guidelines-for-workplaces-malls\/","title":{"rendered":"IATF okays interim guidelines for workplaces, malls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roque said prolonged face-to-face interaction between workers and clients is discouraged and masks shall be worn at all times. (PNA file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 As more areas are now under general community quarantine (GCQ), the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved interim guidelines for workplaces to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).<\/p>\n

In a virtual presser on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the IATF is pushing for alternative work arrangements, which include working-hour shifts, work from home schemes, and working on a rotational basis.<\/p>\n

Roque said prolonged face-to-face interaction between workers and clients is discouraged and masks shall be worn at all times.<\/p>\n

Meetings needing physical presence shall be kept to a minimum number of participants and with short durations while video conferencing shall be used for lengthy discussions among workers, he added.<\/p>\n

Roque noted that office tables should be arranged to maintain proper physical distancing. Barriers may be provided between tables.<\/p>\n

Workstation layout should be designed to allow for unidirectional movement in aisles, corridors, or walkways, he added.<\/p>\n

To maintain physical distancing, Roque said, the number of people inside an enclosed space, such as a room, store, or hall, shall be limited.<\/p>\n

Elevator use should consider physical distancing and limit the number of persons to observe the one-meter physical distancing while the use of stairs should be encouraged, subject to physical distancing requirements.<\/p>\n

If more than two stairways are accessible, one stairway may be used exclusively for going up and another for going down.<\/p>\n

He said roving officers should be assigned to always ensure physical distancing and observance of minimum health protocols.<\/p>\n

The online system shall be highly encouraged for clients needing assistance from offices, including the use of video conferencing, Roque said.<\/p>\n

Mall, shopping center guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the IATF also approved guidelines on the operations of malls and shopping centers in areas declared under GCQ, he said.<\/p>\n

Mall owners shall monitor foot traffic and enforce safe distancing by limiting the number of people inside to a density of not more than one person per 2 square meters; reducing the number of open entrances; assigning personnel in high-density areas; and standing on every other step of the escalator, Roque said.<\/p>\n

They were also asked to mark or reduce the seats available for waiting; create a one-way flow to decongest queues and facilitate movement; increase police visibility; designate a centralized pickup location for delivery service providers; regulate air conditioning to 26\u00b0C, and turn off free Wi-Fi, he said.<\/p>\n

Roque said mall owners should also suspend sale events, marketing events, and other promotions that tend to attract large crowds; and implement other measures necessary.<\/p>\n

Since May 1, the GCQ, with relaxed quarantine measures, has been implemented in all low- and moderate-risk areas nationwide.<\/p>\n

Metro Manila; Central Luzon, except Aurora; Calabarzon; Benguet; Pangasinan; Iloilo province; Cebu province; Bacolod City; and Davao City are still under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).<\/p>\n

The IATF-EID is authorized to declare, lift, or extend community quarantine in provinces, highly-urbanized cities, and independent component cities.<\/p>\n

Provincial governors may also impose, lift, or extend the ECQ in independent component cities and municipalities upon the concurrence of the relevant regional counterpart body of the IATF-EID.<\/p>\n

The task force will determine whether more areas can transition to GCQ before the ECQ lapses on May 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 As more areas are now under general community quarantine (GCQ), the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":254171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254172,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254169\/revisions\/254172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}