MANILA - Kids 5 years old and above still need adult supervision when outdoors, as the country’s COVID-19 response task force has allowed them to go outside in areas under looser lockdowns, a health official said Saturday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated that children would need to practice minimum public health standards outdoors and observe physical distancing as they interact with other children.

"Halimbawa kapag mag-i-interact with other children, kailangan the caregiver or the parents are there to supervise and they will need to wear their mask," Vergeire said in a public press briefing Saturday.

(For example if they interact with other children, parents and caregivers must be there to supervise. They will need to wear their masks.)

Vergeire added that children are barred from public places and in areas "outside of their family bubble."

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"'Yun nga po ang gusto nating ipaliwanag. Hindi pa rin nababago ang omnibus guidelines na itong public places na crowded hindi pa puwedeng dalhin [ang mga bata]," Vergeire said.

(Our omnibus guidelines on crowded places have not changed. Kids are not allowed there yet.)

The IATF on Friday said it was allowing kids to go outside in areas under modified general and general community quarantine (except in areas with heightened restrictions), which includes outdoor areas such as parks, playgrounds, outdoor tourist sites, among others.

It also barred children from “mixed-use indoor/outdoor buildings and facilities such as malls and similar establishments.”

Local government units also have authority to raise the age restrictions depending on their COVID-19 situation.