Manila, QC ban street caroling ahead of Christmas holidays amid COVID-19 pandemic

Manila and Quezon City have banned caroling in the streets over the Christmas holidaysamid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Raffy Tima’s report on “24 Oras”, the two cities prohibited the joy-giving activity to prevent the further spread of the virus.

On Sunday, the Joint Task Force COVID Shield supported proposals to ban caroling during the 2020 Christmas season due to the danger of COVID-19 infections among children.

JTF COVID Shield commander Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said the groups was waiting for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on the proposals.

Secretary of the Interior and Local Government and National Task Force on COVID-19 Vice Chairman Eduardo Año also supported the caroling ban.

Earlier, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba urged the national government to ban caroling as he believed this would prevent further transmission of COVID-19, which has so far infected 398,449 people in the country including 7,674 deaths.

The Department of Health called on the public to still follow health protocols during the holidays.

“May lumabas po na pag-aaral, this is just last week that we got it na naipakita po diyan ‘yong pagkanta ng malakas, ‘yan po ‘yong pinakamataas na porsyento or highest yield of the virus if you are infected, mas marami kang nailalabas,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

Metro Manila mayors earlier banned the conduct of Christmas parties amid the threat of COVID-19. -NB, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/763429/manila-qc-ban-street-caroling-ahead-of-istmas-holidays-amid-covid-19-pandemic/story/

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Police back proposed ban on Christmas caroling

The police Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID-19 Shield is supporting proposals to ban house-to-house caroling during the Christmas season to curb the transmission of the virus, especially among children, an official said yesterday.

JTF commander and Philippine National Police deputy director for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said it would be dangerous for children if local governments would allow street caroling during the pandemic.

Eleazar said he understands that caroling has been part of the Filipino tradition, but the country is facing a different situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are facing a serious threat. We believe that it is in the health interest of everybody if we just stay home and enjoy the Yuletide season with our families,” he said.

The JTF COVID-19 Shield is the quarantine enforcement arm of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The IATF has yet to decide on the proposal.

However, the Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier recommended the ban on caroling nationwide.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who also sits as vice chairman of the National Task Force on COVID-19, cited studies and statistics as indicators that the virus likely spread in group singing activities as “singers have to remove their masks as they sing and viruses are released through aerosols.”

Eleazar said police commanders nationwide have been ordered to coordinate Christmas caroling policies with local governments.

If the ban is approved, he said parents should explain to their kids why there is a need to skip the traditional caroling this year.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/11/09/2055536/police-back-proposed-ban-christmas-caroling