DUMAGUETE CITY – Following the downgrading of Negros Oriental's status from general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified GCQ, tempura vendors and massage services were allowed to resume effective Monday.
However, these are only allowed to operate at a 50 percent capacity between 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., a media release from the City Health Office said.
Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, chair of the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), approved the resumption of the said services.
Accredited by the City’s Sectoral Desk, the massage therapists and tempura vendors are to be divided into two groups on alternate shifts every day.
City Sectoral Desk Officer Albert Aquino was quoted as saying that tempura vendors will be placed along the southern end of the Rizal Boulevard near the beach volleyball courts while the masseurs will be stationed at the premises of the Dumaguete Press Club.
Members of both groups are required to strictly follow health protocols based on national and local IATF guidelines, to include, among others, the wearing of face shield and face mask; wearing of large protective outer clothing; frequent use of alcohol and sanitizers, which must be available at all times; and the carts of tempura vendors must be insulated with acetate plastic covering and shall cater only to take-out orders.
Tempura, a Japanese dish of battered and deep-fried seafood and vegetables, is a popular street food in this city. More than a dozen stalls selling it line up the stretch of Rizal Boulevard, where many tourists and residents, before the health crisis, gathered to enjoy the ocean view before sunset. (PNA)
