The Department of Trade and Industry said Monday as many as 200,000 workers may be affected by the declaration of the more stringent quarantine measures under Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila, which will force some business establishments to cut capacities and limit operations amid the rising COVID-19 cases.
“Basically, what we are losing now was what we gained when we shifted from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2, wherein about 100,000 to 200,000 jobs were opened,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Economic losses may hit P200 million for businesses that will be forced to scale down operations, including restaurants, hotels and retail establishments, he said.
Lopez supported the decision of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to grant limited access to unvaccinated people.
The MMDA, while noting the high vaccination rate of 70 percent in the NCR, dissuaded unvaccinated people from going out of their homes as they are the most vulnerable to contract the virus.
“We definitely support that move to limit the movements of the unvaccinated to essential errands or business only, for their own safety,” Lopez said.
Lopez reminded business establishments to observe health protocols. “In terms of these reports, we encourage all establishments not to lose their vigilance, rather maintain strict adherence to the protocol to help curb the spread of the virus,” he said.
He said checking proof of vaccination is important especially in restaurants and diners to keep operations safe for everybody.
Lopez said the DTI is counting on the cooperation of consumers and clients of establishments to report incidents that may affect the gains in pandemic control.
He said the new surge in cases could not be blamed on the decision allowing minors to venture outside their homes.
“We saw that cases dropped to as low as over 200 cases daily even when kids below 18 were given the freedom to go out with parents’ consent and supervision. With this, I think it’s time to review the protocols and allow these kids to go out even on non-essential trips. More consumer spending will help the economy recover sooner,” he said.
Based on COVID monitoring reports, infection cases doubled after Christmas and continued to rise because of mass gatherings.
The Department of Health reported 4,084 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total active cases to 24,992. The Philippines was again classified as a high-risk country for COVID infections.