The task force against COVID-19 defended its decision to ease the social distancing between passengers of public transportation, noting the health protocols in place were enough to prevent the spread of the virus.
The reduction of social distancing, which begins today, September 14, aims to “optimize” and increase the carrying capacity of public transport vehicles, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
The physical distancing would be lessened from one meter to 0.75 meters and could be reduced further starting September 28 and to 0.3 meters beginning October 12.
Many expressed their concerns with the measure as the country continues to log a higher number of COVID-19 cases daily.
However, Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) vice-chairman and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles assured the public that strict health protocols would be imposed in public transport vehicles.
“We are studying ways to increase the capacity of (public) transportation, to accommodate (more) passengers while not sacrificing health,” Nograles said in Filipino during an online live session last Saturday.
“These kinds of adjustments being done by the DOTr are carefully calibrated, but it does not mean we would not add health protocols when we reduce physical distancing,” he added.
Nograles added that other countries like Japan had adapted the reduction of physical distancing provided that passengers are required to face masks and face shields while traveling.
“We are balancing health and economy – our health needs and the economic aspect. We are slowly reopening our economy, allowing more economic activities, and people are returning to work… Our countrymen who need to work find it difficult to go to their workplace because of the gap in transportation,” he said.
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Gov’t task force defends easing of social distancing
For trains, the expected increase in passenger capacity is supported by data based on physical simulation. Below is the new passenger capacity of the railway lines once the social distancing is reduced per train set:
LRT-1
- 1-meter: 155
- 0.75-meter: 204
- 0.5-meter: 255
- 0.3-meter: 300
LRT-2
- 1-meter: 160
- 0.75-meter: 212
- 0.5-meter: 274
- 0.3-meter: 502
MRT-3
- 1-meter: 153
- 0.75-meter: 204
- 0.5-meter: 255
- 0.3-meter: 286
PNR
- 1-meter: 166
- 0.75-meter: 184
- 0.5-meter: 256
- 0.3-meter: 320
The passenger capacity on roll on-roll off passenger’s vessels would also be gradually reduced:
- 1-meter: 50%
- 0.75-meter: 75%
- 0.5-meter: 85%
- 0.3-meter: 100%
Meanwhile, DOTr said optimizing the physical distance in class 2 modern public utility vehicles and public utility buses means standing passengers could already be allowed.