Outdoor biz ‘in’ amid pandemic: DTI chief

MANILA – As the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) now favors outdoor and non-contact activities, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said on Friday outdoor businesses with no mass gatherings would be an emerging business model.

In a radio interview, Lopez said the IATF will allow operating businesses with an outdoor setup but will not breach the protocols on mass gathering.

“Ang bagong business model ngayon ay outdoor. ‘Pag outdoor sila, non-contact pwedeng gawin ‘yon (The new business model now is outdoor. If they are outdoor, non-contact (business activities) they can do that),” the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief said.

Even with the easing of quarantine measures in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus bubble to general community quarantine (GCQ), Lopez said the current GCQ status in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal has more restrictions than the one imposed last year.

For instance, gym, dine-in services, venue for meeting exhibitions, and personal care services like facial and massage were allowed at limited operation capacity during the GCQ in the previous year.

However, the said activities are still not allowed under the heightened GCQ imposed by the IATF in NCR Plus starting May 15.

Yes to outdoor gyms, no zumba yet

Lopez said outdoor gyms with no contact activities will be allowed to operate.

On the other hand, he said zumba — even if mostly done outdoors — remain prohibited because the activity could violate mass gathering protocols.

The heightened GCQ in NCR Plus also allows outdoor tourist attractions and outdoor non-contact sports.

But the IATF still prohibits entertainment, recreational activities, amusement parks, and indoor contact sports as well as personal care services that will require removal of face mask.

More jobs back

With the gradual reopening of economic activities, Lopez said about 200,000 to 300,000 more jobs would be back in the labor market with the reimposition of GCQ in the NCR Plus.

When the NCR Plus was reverted to enhanced community quarantine, some 1.5 million jobs were lost, according to the DTI chief.

“For the past two weeks, tumuloy-tuloy naman ang pagbaba ng kaso. Ituloy natin ‘yon at ‘wag naman sana masira ang improvement natin, (Cases have continued to drop. Let’s continue that and let’s not ruin our improvement),” he said.

He also urged Filipinos to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019.