MANILA, Philippines – On Monday, March 16, the Philippine government placed the entire island of Luzon, home to over 57 million people, on lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the "enhanced community quarantine" would take effect 12 midnight of Tuesday, March 17.
Under the new measure, strict quarantine for all households will be implemented, transportation will be suspended, and provision for food and “essential health services” will be regulated, based on an earlier memorandum released by Malacañang. Details on how these will be enforced were not provided as of posting.
Additional travel restrictions were also put in place while local governments across the capital region moved to implement an 8 pm to 5 am curfew in their respective areas.
With a lack of information about providing mobility and resources to the public, Filipinos directly affected by the lockdown need help to survive the next month.
MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement arm, will focus on crowdsourcing and making sense of community needs during this time. The team will be working with individuals, volunteers, organizations and groups that are interested and willing to help those who are in need.
Do you know a healthworker who needs a lift going to the hospital? Do you know someone who might need to a bicycle to go to work?
Here’s how you can post a need:
Join the MovePH group. We are turning this into platform where we can crowdsource needs and help during this time.
- Identify your location and type of need. We’ve categorized needs according to the following: bike lending services, transportation, delivery, or others.
Indicate the details of your need and summarize your health and travel history.
Verified needs will be managed by movers, volunteers and partners for proper action.
How can individuals, organizations, and groups help
We are looking for groups and individuals who can provide bike lending services, transportation, delivery, or other kinds of services to those who are in need.
Identify the kind of support that you or your group can provide: manpower for communication, transportation, bike lending services, delivery, etc;
Join the MovePH group to be part of this community of action.
Health measures
As part of our desire to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, we will be strictly implementing the following preventive health measures during our operations:
Those willing to help should be:
Physically fit;
Doesn’t exhibit any respiratory disease symptoms;
haven’t gotten into contact with any person who is positive for COVID-19.
We will also be requiring our on ground volunteers to wear basic protective equipment such as face masks. – Rappler.com