Police back proposed ban on Christmas caroling

MANILA, Philippines — 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.