The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said some 600,000 workers were able to go back to work since the new quarantine system was piloted in the National Capital Region (NCR) last month and extended to October 15.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday the DTI is also seeking reconsideration by the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) to allow other personal care services like therapy and massage to reopen even under Alert Level 4, the strictest under the current system with granular lockdowns.
Lopez said the number of workers now back to work is three times the original projection of 200,000 after the guidelines under Alert Level 4 in NCR were relaxed, allowing dine in, al fresco and personal care services like barbers/salons and nail care to operate at higher capacities and gyms and fitness centers to reopen.
Lopez’ initial assessment comes ahead of that of the IATF which will recommend to President Duterte whether or not to roll out the alert level system with granular lockdowns in areas outside Metro Manila.
Lopez said cinemas and game arcades might be considered for reopening under Alert Level 3.
“I think we should be able to go Level 3 especially now with more and more people getting vaccinated and the number of cases going down. We hope to sustain this so more businesses can reopen and more people will go back to work,” Lopez said.
Meanwhile, Lopez said the proposal to shorten the quarantine days to inbound travellers will be a big boost to business as investors will be encouraged to visit, assess their investment plans and make decisions.
He said right now, business travellers are hesitant to visit the Philippines discouraged by the llong period they have to undergo quarantine.
Fitness studios and gyms are allowed to operate at 20 percent capacity for fully vaccinated individuals, and with fully vaccinated staff.
For now, Lopez said current capacities for restaurants are good enough.
Dine-in services are allowed a maximum of 30 percent, 20 percent plus 10-percentage points with Safety Seal but only for fully-vaccinated staff and customers. Al fresco dining is allowed to a maximum of 40 percent (including 10-ppt with Safety Seal) for both vaccinated and unvaccinated. – Irma Isip
