Moviegoers spend Valentine’s Day at the cinema of SM Bacoor in Cavite as the IATF allows the reopening of cinemas, arcades, museums, and leisure centers in areas under GCQ. 📷: Marianne Bermudez/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — The reopening of businesses in the country should be “localized” depending on which local government units (LGUs) have already rolled out their vaccination programs, a lawmaker told the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on Thursday.
Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said such a move will ensure that customers of businesses will be safe as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
“The reopening of businesses should be staggered and based on which LGUs have already implemented their respective Covid-19 vaccine plans,” Biazon said in a statement.
“This way, we can ensure that the patrons going to these businesses will not be at risk for infection to the coronavirus and become unknowing vectors,” he added.
Further, Biazon said that the IATF should synchronize the opening of sectors in the economy with that of the Covid-19 vaccine plan for that specific sector.
“We should identify sectors in the economy to open up, and the reopening should be tied in with a vaccination plan for that sector. This will help boost not just immunity, but more importantly, the confidence of consumers to actually patronize those businesses,” Biazon said.
“If we open the businesses without a confidence-building measure such as a vaccination program, the consumer response may not be enough to sustain the overhead cost, as well as lead into another surge of infections,” he added.
To recall, the IATF earlier allowed the reopening of more businesses like cinemas, museums, and tourist attractions such as theme parks in areas under a general community quarantine (GCQ), including Metro Manila.
However, the mayors of Metro Manila have opted to defer the reopening of cinemas in the region amid continuing concerns over Covid-19.
Malacanang has rescheduled the reopening of cinemas in GCQ areas for March 1.