Why some are saying 'social distancing' is a privilegeMANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte last Thursday announced broad restrictions as the alert over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was raised to Code Red Sublevel 2, including a community quarantine over the National Capitol Region and more serious social distancing measures. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social distancing means "remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible." As agencies announced specific guidelines for those measures, groups raised concerns over how the social distancing measures would affect vulnerable sectors like minimum-wage workers and those in the informal sector. Hindi uubra ang "social distancing" sa bayang siksikan sa tren, siksikan sa bus, siksikan sa komunidad, siksikan sa classroom, siksikan kung may pila, at walang maayos na serbisyong panlipunan para sa mamamayan. Labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino in a statement sent to Philstar.com said that social distancing is impossible given "the present state of the metro’s transportation and urban planning."

Source: Philippine Star March 15, 2020 08:03 UTC