Mayor Evelio Leonardia, in an executive order extending the General Community Quarantine in Bacolod City until November 30, said curfew will remain from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and several businesses will still not be allowed to operate.
Religious gatherings will be allowed at 30 percent of the seating capacity of the venue and limited to the conduct of religious worship or service, Leonardia also said in Executive Order No. 70, Series of 2020, issued Friday, October 30.
Leonardia said he appealed to the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) for Bacolod to be categorized under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) starting November 1.
However, the NIATF opted to keep Bacolod under its current GCQ status to ensure the momentum of the city’s gains in the reduction of COVID-19 cases, he said.
The Office of the President, through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, issued a memorandum Friday stating that Bacolod City will remain under GCQ until November 30, on the recommendation of the NIATF, he added.
Businesses still not allowed to operate in Bacolod, based on Department of Trade and Industry Memorandum Circular No. 20-53, are language, driving, dance, acting, voice schools; cinemas and theaters; libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers; tourist destinations such as water parks, beaches, and resorts;
Full-body massage; tattoo and body piercing; live events, cockfighting and operation of cockpits; beerhouses and similar establishments whose primary business is serving of alcoholic drinks; and kid amusement industries, the EO said.
During the extended GCQ the selling of liquor will be allowed from noon to 6 p.m. and with consumption only to be done within private residences, the EO added.
The mayor said the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center Task Force will continue to serve as the focal point in targeting the COVID-19 hotspots.*