19,315 tourism frontliners in Metro Manila vaccinated

MANILA, Philippines — More than 19,000 workers in quarantine facilities accredited by the Department of Tourism in Metro Manila have been vaccinated against COVID-19, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat reported yesterday.

Puyat said 19,315 out of 26,745 tourism frontliners working in isolation facilities and quarantine hotels were fully vaccinated.

There are 455 accommodation establishments accredited by the DOT in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“The vaccination of our tourism workers is a necessary step to keep them protected while doing their duty in the frontlines, especially with the threat posed by the Delta variant,” Puyat said.

“We are confident that we will be able to vaccinate 100 percent of our tourism workers before the end of the enhanced community quarantine,” she added.

Puyat said a total of 1,245 out of 4,479 workers in 202 DOT-accredited restaurants have received COVID-19 jabs.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos, citing data from the Department of Health, said local government units in the NCR have administered 5,520,353 first doses and 3,952,912 second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Abalos said the region’s target of 250,000 doses per day is doable as long as vaccine supplies are available.

In Pateros, Mayor Miguel Ponce III said 51,732 residents have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

The municipal government targets to inoculate 80 percent of its 70,000 estimated population to achieve herd immunity, according to Ponce.