Recently opened businesses to close – DTI

MANILA, Philippines — With Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal back to a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said businesses which recently reopened including dine-in restaurants, barber shops, salons and gyms would have to temporarily close again.

“Under the MECQ, there are still a number of business sectors allowed although most at limited scale, while some of the recently allowed sectors under GCQ (general community quarantine) such as dine-in restaurants, barbershops, salons and the recent additions such as gyms, review and testing centers, other personal grooming shops, internet cafes shall not be allowed temporarily in the next 15 days,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said yesterday.

Drive-in cinemas are also not allowed in MECQ areas.

In GCQ areas, testing and tutorial centers, review centers, gyms, fitness centers, sports facilities, internet cafes, establishments offering personal grooming and aesthetic services, pet grooming and drive-in cinemas were allowed to operate at 30 percent capacity starting Aug. 1, subject to additional health protocols.

Dine-in restaurants were allowed to resume operations in GCQ areas at 30 percent capacity since June 15, while barbershops and salons were allowed to reopen and offer basic haircut services on June 7.

President Duterte decided to put Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces under MECQ starting today until Aug. 18, as a compromise following the call of medical groups to revert Mega Manila to ECQ as the healthcare system is pushed to its limit.

Lopez said that as the government is balancing both health and economy, the recent move is a temporary reprieve to heed the call of medical practitioners.

Medical groups said the period during the stricter community quarantine should be used to recalibrate strategies against the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 cases in the country have continued to increase, bringing the total tally of infections to over 100,000.

Lopez, who earlier said going back to ECQ is not an option as unemployment and poverty would be damaging to people’s health, said yesterday it is important to temporarily have stricter measures under MECQ to stem the rising number of cases, especially in the last five days.

He said stronger contact tracing, testing, isolation and treatment would also be necessary in addressing the health crisis.

“We wish that this move back to MECQ will break the increasing trend of positive COVID cases and will eventually allow us to aid the micro, small and medium enterprises and bring back the much needed livelihood and jobs to many of our countrymen,” Lopez said.

While Metro Manila and nearby provinces have reverted back to MECQ, he said there is no need for consumers to resort to panic buying.

“We have over two months of finished goods inventory of almost all basic products and raw materials of even more than three months supply. So, there is no need for the public to worry,” he said.