MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be proposing to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) the opening of internet cafés in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
In a radio interview Tuesday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said his office will also recommend allowing the operation of tutorial and review centers in GCQ areas.
“We don’t allow yet the operation of internet cafés because we fear that children will gather inside internet shops. But if it’s for education purposes, that’s why we reconsider to include them in establishments allowed to operate under GCQ,” Lopez said in Filipino.
In his fifth State-of-the-Nation Address Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that no face-to-face classes until a vaccine for Covid-19 is available.
He added DTI is allowed to recommend industries that may reopen amid the pandemic upon consultation with other agencies like the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health and the Department of Finance.
Aside from cybercafés and tutorial and review centers, Lopez said they are eyeing to reopen establishments in GCQ areas, such as personal grooming and aesthetic services, pet grooming, gyms, fitness centers, and sports facilities.
Some businesses also proposed to allow drive-in cinemas, the DTI chief said.
“I believe that the IATF’s mindset now is to revive the economy while still implementing strict health protocol,” he added.
Lopez said those sectors that reopened continue to improve their protocols to ensure there will be no transmission of Covid-19 in these establishments.
He added the DTI continues to monitor these establishments and the compliance of these businesses to health standards is high.