State workers in areas under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) who are required to physically report for work are now entitled to receive a daily hazard pay of up to P500.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 43 to amend and expand the coverage of AO No. 26 that previously granted allowance to state workers only in areas under ECQ.
“Government employees occupying regular, contractual or casual positions, or those engaged through contract of service, job order, or other similar schemes, who services are urgently essential and who physically report for work during the period of an ECQ and MECQ, are inevitably exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection and other similar health dangers and hazards,” the President said.
If government units lack funds for the P500 daily hazard pay, “a lower but uniform rate” may be granted to qualified personnel, the President said.
In the latest community quarantine levels that would be in effect from June 1 to 15, the following areas were placed under MECQ: City of Santiago in Cagayan, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Puerto Princesa City, Iloilo City, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro City, Butuan City, and Agusan del Sur.
Meanwhile, the country logged 5,257 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 1,240,716.
Yesterday’s tally marked the eighth consecutive day wherein more than 5,000 cases were recorded.
At least 146 new fatalities brought the death toll to 21,158 while 6,266 more patients recovered from the illness, bringing the number of active cases to 52,132.
While Metro Manila remained under General Community Quarantine with restrictions, its virus reproduction number went up from 0.57 to 0.68 in the past week, the OCTA Research Group said.
The reproduction number refers to the number of people that each COVID-19 case can infect.
OCTA also reported the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila grew by 8 percent to 1,135.
While this is considered as a “slight” increase, OCTA said this is the first time there is a rise in growth rate since the peak of the surge.