MANILA- The government has allowed hotels and other lodges to operate in the Philippines but only for "accommodation purposes," Malacañang said Thursday.

The policy covers hotels, resorts, apartment hotels, tourist inns, motels, pension houses, private homes used for homestay, ecolodges, serviced apartments, condotels, and bed and breakfast facilities.

The said establishments may operate in areas under community quarantine as long as there is a certificate of authority to operate from the Department of Tourism, based on the latest resolution of the government's inter-agency task force (IATF) on pandemic response.

"Hotel operations shall be limited in the provision of basic accommodation services to guests through an in-house skeleton workforce," the IATF resolution read.

Spa services, bars, gyms, restaurant and cafe operations within such facilities will still not be allowed, the IATF said.

Room service is also prohibited but packed meals and food orders for take-out and delivery are allowed.

• Hotels step up safety measures as GCQ begins in Metro Manila

Except for Metro Manila, Pangasinan province, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Davao City, and Zamboanga City, which are under general community quarantine, all areas in the country are under the more relaxed modified GCQ beginning June 1.

The MGCQ is the transition point to the "new normal" where "emerging behaviors, situations, and minimum public health standards" are "institutionalized in common or routine practices" while the COVID-19 is not yet totally eradicated.