No vax, no entry: Malls, public transport will not allow unvaxed individuals.

As you know by now, the Omicron variant has spread out in the Philippines. The new coronavirus strain and the rising cases have forced Metro Manila mayors to revert back to Alert Level 3. At the same time, the government announced that unvaccinated individuals will not be allowed entry in certain places.

Under Alert Level 3, unvaccinated persons and children are not allowed to enter malls and restaurants. At the same time, these individuals are not allowed to get on board public utility vehicles or PUVs. These include buses, taxicabs, shuttles (UV Express), trains, and all those that provide similar services. MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said this move to placing unvaccinated persons under ECQ or Enhanced Community Quarantine.

The MMDA has also made it clear that these persons are prohibited in domestic travel via public transportation by land, sea, and air. Per a statement released by the MMDA, The same rules shall also cover individuals who reside outside of the NCR but who work and/or travel to the region. Unvaccinated persons may only go out of their homes to procure essential goods and services such as food and medical supplies.

And for those who still refuse to get vaccinated, it might be an expensive thing to keep up. In a statement, “(Unvaccinated persons are) required to undergo a Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT PCR) test every two (2) weeks at their personal expense and present a COVID-19 negative result prior to being admitted for work onsite consistent with the guidelines, rules, and regulations issued by the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Department of Labor and Employment; Provided, however, that in the event that the RT PCR test and/or result is/are not immediately available, a Rapid Antigen Test may be utilized in lieu thereof.”

There is no other way of saying it. The government is pushing for more people to get the jab as soon as possible. Violators face a fine of not less than P20,000.00 but not more than P50,000.00 or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment.

More recently, the provinces under Region 4-A have also bumped back up to Alert Level 3. That means the rules, regulations, and restrictions applied in Metro Manila are enforced in these places as well.