No border crossing for non-emergency hospital appointments

MANILA, Philippines — People who have non-emergency medical appointments are prohibited from crossing inter-city borders in Metro Manila during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief, said it is the same case for residents of neighboring provinces who have non-emergency medical appointments in health facilities in Metro Manila.

“If it’s not an emergency, have your check-up in your locality because it’s certain a doctor is also there,” Eleazar said in Filipino during an interview over Teleradyo.

Although medical emergencies are an exception, he said residents who have a medical appointment at a hospital or clinic in a different city better reschedule the check-up after the end of the ECQ on Aug. 20.

He said this policy is consistent with consumer authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) who are prohibited from traveling to areas outside of the city or municipality in which they reside to buy basic goods.

The PNP chief warned that those who would insist on crossing borders to meet their medical appointments are sure to encounter inconvenience as police manning quarantine control points have strict instructions to enforce ECQ protocols.

He said allowing non-emergency medical appointments only defeat the purpose of the ECQ, which is to restrict the movement of people to prevent the highly-contagious COVID-19 Delta variant from spreading.