Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez assured the public that the guidelines jointly issued by the Trade and Labor and Departments allowing the private sector to operate during the Enhanced Community Quarantine and General Community Quarantine will manage the risks of COVID-19 transmission.
“More sectors will be allowed to open and operate within a controlled environment as long as they implement health protocols and standards to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We want to ensure that we don’t lose the gains we’ve achieved under the ECQ period,” Lopez said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the guidelines would ensure the safety and health of workers and enhance productivity by eliminating risks in the workplaces.
“The full cooperation between employers and workers in observing the new protocols is a necessary element in transitioning the workplaces into the new normal,” he added.
Lopez stressed it was important to reopen the economy, which can be safely done by increasing testing capacity to lower the country’s infection or transmission rate.
The guidelines will apply to all workplaces, employers and workers in the private sector. They are aligned with the objectives of the minimum health standards of the Health Department during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the requirements are the wearing of face masks, the submission of a daily health symptoms questionnaire and the constant checking of temperature.
The equipment and vehicles entering operation areas should undergo disinfection process, and physical distancing must be observed in any long queues outside the office or store premises.
The guidelines also set the standard procedure for employers on what to do if a worker or employee is suspected of having COVID-19. They range from the isolation of the worker or employee, the protection of clinic personnel with personal protective equipment, the decontamination of the workplace and the PCR testing of the employee.
There should be an arrangement with testing facilities and laboratories as well as proper health insurance coverage.
“Not all workers need to be tested and the protocol is that they should fill up a health declaration. If they’ve been exposed to a patient positive for COVID-19 or if they’re feeling unwell, that’s the time it should be protocol for them to be isolated and get PCR-tested,” Lopez said.