To keep people safe with more establishments opening, the government also launched a safety seal certification program that would allow establishments to place a seal on their entry points if they comply with the government’s required health and safety protocols.
New rules are to be set in place on the capacity of public places in areas under quarantine, the government has announced.
In places under general community quarantine (GCQ), restaurants will be allowed to increase capacity of their outdoor dining spaces to 75 percent, while its indoor dining capacity will remain at 50 percent.
Restaurants with al fresco dining options are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity in areas under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), while indoor dining is prohibited.
Beauty salons, massage spas, meeting and conference venues, tourist spots, and indoor non-contact sports are allowed to run at 50 percent capacity under GCQ, while they are not allowed to operate amid MECQ.
Non-contact sports such as badminton and golf are allowed at 50% capacity under MECQ and full capacity during GCQ.
Outdoor contact sports along with entertainment centers, cinemas, internet cafes and amusement parks remain prohibited in both MECQ and GCQ.
If regions currently under MECQ are able to improve its contract tracing systems and increase hospital and ICU bed capacities, they may be placed under GCQ.
To keep people safe with more establishments opening, the government also launched a safety seal certification program that would allow establishments to place a seal on their entry points if they comply with the government’s required health and safety protocols.
The country is currently struggling amid the surge in Covid-19 cases in the past couple of weeks. Hospitals and healthcare centers are overwhelmed with patients, and it is on the brink of collapse.
As of April 22, an approximate 3.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to citizens, a far cry from the government’s goal of vaccinating 50 to 70 million people by year-end.
As the economy struggles to stay afloat, it is inevitable that the government will open more establishments in the coming weeks.
However, only until they speed up the inoculation program will the country be able to return to a sense of normalcy alongside a strict implementation of health and safety protocols.
(MO)
Tags: #Covid19, #quarantine