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DTI on Duterte order to keep kids at home: Better err on side of caution
The Department of Health (DOH) acknowledged that President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to revert the policy allowing children aged 10 to 14 to go out is beneficial in assessing the spread of the UK COVID-19 variant.
The DOH believes the reversal will provide sufficient time for genome sequencing across all regions to understand the variant's transmission.
The initial decision by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to ease age restrictions had faced criticism from health experts due to the presence of the more transmissible UK variant.
President Duterte cited concerns about the new variant affecting younger children as the reason for his precautionary reversal.
This reversal coincided with the DOH's report of 38 close contacts of UK variant-infected individuals testing positive for COVID-19.
The original easing of age restrictions was aimed at boosting economic activity impacted by quarantine measures.
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President Rodrigo Duterte has reversed the earlier decision to allow minors aged 10 to 14 to go out in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas due to the detection of the UK variant of COVID-19 in the country.
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President Rodrigo Duterte prioritizes children's safety amid the pandemic, mandating those aged 10 to 14 to stay home.
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Senator Christopher "Bong" Go urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to reconsider its decision to ease age restrictions in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas.
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Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez will propose to the IATF to allow children aged 10 and above to go out, aiming to further stimulate economic activity.
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