The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Monday it welcomed the easing of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions but was wary that stricter measures might be reimposed if consumers and facilities became careless.
The country’s biggest business group said while it welcomed the shift to Alert Level 2 from 3 “we may again revert back to higher alert levels” if people and establishments don’t implement proper health protocols.”
“We welcome the downgrading, and we hope the Filipino people will still be cautious in going out to public places,” said PCCI Secretary General Ruben Pascual.
He cited the increased turnout in public places such as parks and malls during the first weekend Metro Manila was under Alert Level 2.
Alert Level 2, which was imposed on Nov. 5, allows children to visit malls and other facilities.
“This is the first weekend, so we don’t have (data) but if it is any indication, if you have seen the parks, malls, restaurants, it was filled to the brim. They were full. Even my grandchildren went to the BGC park, and when they saw how many people were around, they went back home, they were afraid,” Pascual said.
Business groups earlier lobbied for the lowering of restrictions to Alert Level 2 from 3 to increase operational capacity.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said this move would allow firms to recoup losses this year as spending surges during Christmas Holidays.
The economy could also gain P3.6 billion each week Metro Manila would be under Alert Level 2, estimates from the National Economic and Development Authority showed.
In related developments, Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, a pediatric infectious diseases expert, urged parents to continue being cautious as children were now allowed in public areas in Metro Manila.
“It’s a little concerning, I have to admit. First off, I think we’ve been quite used to the fact that we haven’t seen kids outdoors for quite some time. And it takes a little getting used to,” she said.
While allowing freedom of movement is important for the mental health of children, she called on parents to keep their guards up.
“The virus is still there. It’s up to us to know how to defend ourselves properly against what’s circulating out there,” Lim said on ANC’s Rundown.
Health experts earlier advised the public to choose outdoor spaces
where probability of COVID transmission was lower.
As many minors have yet to be vaccinated against the respiratory disease, complying with the minimum public health standards will offer them protection, she said.
Meanwhile, the Philippines logged on Monday 2,087 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total to 2,805,294, as all laboratories were operational while eight labs were not able to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
This new number of cases is the lowest since March 2, 2021, when 2,063 fresh infections were posted.
Based on data in the last 14 days, the eight non-reporting laboratories contribute, on average, 0.8 percent of samples tested and 1.2 percent of positive individuals.
The DOH also reported 91 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 44,521.
The DOH also reported 3,510 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 2,728,696.
In Metro Manila, 40 percent of ICU beds, 28 percent of isolation beds, 25 percent of ward beds, and 26 percent of ventilators, were in use.
In related developments, the independent OCTA Research Group said the situation in the National Capital Region amid the COVID-19 pandemic was better compared to the same period last year.
Among the indicators were average daily cases, reproduction number, daily attack rate, active cases, and positivity rate.
“Nearly all indicators are better now,” said OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David on Twitter.
As the country logged new cases Monday, the DOH said the country detected a case of a COVID-19 variant formerly called “Kappa,” first reported in India and another case of the variant first recorded in Mauritius.
The B.1.617.1 variant, a sub-lineage of the Delta variant first detected in India, is classified as a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization beginning Sep. 20, Spokesperson and Health Undersecretary Maria Rosairo Vergeire said.
Vergeire said it was previously classified as a variant of interest.
The B.1.617.1 variant is not the same as the Delta subvariant AY.4.2, Vergeire said.
“Up until now, based on our latest sequencing results, we have yet to detect this sub-lineage in the country,” said Vergeire. Authorities detected the B.1.617.1 variant in a 32-year-old patient from Floridablanca, Pampanga who experienced a mild case and has since recovered, Vergeire said.
The patient’s sample was collected on June 2, she said. “Further investigation is being done by the regional epidemiology and surveillance unit,” she said.
The country also detected another case of the B.1.1.318 variant first detected in Mauritius in some 748 samples that underwent genome sequencing on Nov. 6, Saturday. The samples were from March, April, May, June, September, and October, Vergeire said.
A total 651 Delta cases were detected, 22 more cases of the Alpha variant, and 15 more cases of the Beta variant, she also said.
Delta remains the prevalent variant, comprising 5,982 or 34.59 percent of the 17,292 samples with lineages, Vergeire said.
