MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government is looking into allowing the operation of barber shops and salons as well as dine-in services in fast food chains and restaurants under general community quarantine (GCQ).
“We are finding ways to strengthen the minimum health protocol that they can institute to limit the transmission. The risk of transmission is the only issue in these sectors. We need to address this issue so they can resume their operations earlier under GCQ,” Lopez said in his interview with CNN Philippines on Friday.
He said salons and dine-in restaurants are already allowed to operate in areas under modified GCQ, which has more relaxed measures than GCQ, but with limited capacity of up to 50 percent.
“Between the two, preparation of barber shops and salons are advanced. It’s possible it will be an earlier opening under GCQ,” he said.
Consumer advocate Victorio Mario Dimagiba, president and founder of the Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI), said their group has appealed to the House of Representatives Trade Committee to allow senior citizens in dine-in restaurants, hotels, and similar food businesses.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) restricts vulnerable members of the population, including senior citizens, to go outside amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“LKI made a case that senior citizens can contribute big in the recovery of the restaurant sector,” Dimagiba said in a text message.
However, Lopez said even if an area is under a GCQ status, movement of people is still limited to essential purposes.
“It’s limited to movement of workers as well as individuals to pass to do their errands,” he said.
He added that there will be no time limit in shopping in malls, but the DTI already asked mall operators to increase their air conditioning temperature from the usual, and Wi-Fi connection should not be available for mall-goers to avoid loitering and hanging out inside the mall.
Lopez said theaters, entertainment, travel, and other leisure activities are still not allowed under GCQ.
Traveling for tourism and leisure purposes will resume in the next phase, he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday has approved the IATF-EID recommendation to place Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Cagayan Valley, Pangasinan, Albay, and Davao City under GCQ starting June 1, while the rest of the country will be under MGCQ status or the transition period for the ‘new normal’. (PNA)
