MECQ Guide: Rules and Restrictions in NCR+ until April 30

[Update as of April 12, 2021: The curfew which was from 6 PM to 5 AM has now been changed and will be implemented from 8 PM to 5 AM in Metro Manila.]

After two weeks of ECQ, the so-called NCR+ bubble which consists of Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna, is back to the less restrictive MECQ (Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine) once more starting April 12 until April 30, 2021.

If you’re still a bit confused with the rules that this quarantine term carries, here’s a guide to help you out! We’ve listed down the activities you can do, and establishments you can and cannot visit while we’re under MECQ this April.

Movement in NCR+

• The movement of people is limited to accessing essential goods and services or for work in permitted offices or establishments.
• The curfew in Metro Manila will now be implemented from 8 PM until 5 AM.
• Workers, cargo vehicles, and public transportation are still exempted from the curfew.
• Those who are below 18 or over 65 years old, people with comorbidities, and pregnant women must still remain at home. They can only go out to obtain essential goods and services, or for their work.

Activities and services under MECQ

• All establishments that are not permitted to operate during ECQ shall be allowed to operate at fifty percent (50%) on-site capacity. However, operations are still suspended for the following:
  • Indoor dine-in services in restaurants and other food establishments.
  • Cinemas, concert halls, theaters, and the like are still suspended.
  • Gyms, fitness studios, swimming pools, and other indoor leisure centers or facilities.
  • Spas, beauty salons, parlors, massage therapy, medical esthetic clinics, cosmetic or derma clinics, and the like.
  • Recreational venues such as internet cafes, billiard halls, amusement arcades, bowling alleys, and the like.
  • Indoor and outdoor tourist attractions.
  • Libraries, archives, museums, galleries, and cultural shows and exhibits.
  • Casinos, horse racing, cockfighting and operation of cockpits, lottery and betting shops, and other gaming establishments.
• Only hotels or accommodation establishments with valid DOT Accreditation shall be allowed to accommodate guests and clients for legitimate purposes under a state of public health emergency.
• Al fresco dining and retail shops will be open with limited capacity.
• Individual outdoor exercises such as outdoor walks, jogging, running or biking, are allowed within the general area of their residence, for example, within their barangay, purok, subdivision, and/or village. The minimum public health standards including the wearing of face masks and social distancing must still be observed.
• Face-to-face classes are still suspended.
• Outdoor gatherings, as well as indoor gatherings with persons from outside the immediate household, are not allowed.
• Religious gatherings shall be allowed up to 10% of the venue capacity, provided that there is no objection from the local government unit (LGU). The LGU may also increase the allowed capacity up to 30%.
• Gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19 shall be allowed but will be limited to immediate family members.

For more information, visit the Philippine News Agency and PTV News websites. You can also check out the full Omnibus Guidelines here. Malacañang will further explain the new guidelines on April 12, Monday.

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Note: These rules and regulations are subject to change without prior notice.