Only restos with fully vaxxed staff may operate in AL-4
ONLY restaurants and food and beverage outlets whose employees are fully vaccinated will be allowed to reopen under Alert Level 4 status of Metro Manila.
This was the clarification made by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, after Malacañang announced the operation of dining establishments with capacity allocations for vaccinated individuals for indoor dining (10 percent), and al fresco dining (30 percent).
“All workers/employees of these establishments have to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” stressed Lopez, citing the guidelines approved by the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the new Alert Level System. Asked how they can check the validity of a restaurant employee’s vaccination status, he told the Businessmirror, “We will be checking the vaccination card issued by the local government units with their ID to prove sila yon.”
The IATF guidelines also mandates minimum public health standards (MPHS) in these dining establishments, which include the installation of acrylic or dividers of a similar material, regular disinfection, and appropriate seating configuration ensuring social distancing.
Better than zero
ASKED why only 10 percent indoor dining was allowed for vaccinated diners, Lopez explained: “Indoor activity with mask removal [during eating] is a big concern especially for the highly transmissible Delta variant. So this [eating indoors] is supposed to be a prohibited activity. So the consensus built around our [Department of Trade and Industry’s] proposal to allow even 10 percent for indoor, and to allow only the safe population which are the vaccinated, and let the outdoor be opened to both vaccinated and unvaccinated. No distinction just to be able to allow even a small reopening in this sector and do this in a safer manner.”
He added, “To us, this is better than zero or totally disallowed under Alert Level 4. For Levels 3, 2, and 1, higher operating capacity will be allowed of 30, 50, and 100 percent [of venue capacity] provided there’s MPHS.” Establishments with DTI’S safety seal certificate will be allowed “an additional 10 percentage points beyond the prescribed on-site or venue/seating capacity,” for Levels 3 and 2.
Luneta, Intramuros site reopened
MEANWHILE, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said she would strive for staycations in Metro Manila hotels to be allowed again, considering 99 percent of their hotel workers are already vaccinated. “This [ALS] is just a pilot, so we’re just taking a few steps forward. The good thing is, the hotels and Dot-accredited restaurants especially those with the safety seal, they’re very strict in implementing the minimum health requirements,” she said on a TV show on Wednesday.
She will also push for age restrictions to be lifted for leisure tourism, “because Filipinos travel as a family, including their grandparents. We had that before [the Delta variant] and there was no Covid outbreak [in the leisure destinations].”
Romulo Puyat likewise announced the reopening of Rizal Park and three sites in Intramuros —Fort Santiago, Baluarte de San Diego and Plaza San Luis—under limited capacity and shortened operating hours starting September 16. However, only visitors between 18 and 65 years old are allowed due to the age restrictions imposed under AL-4.
The Intramuros Administration will set up an express lane for fully vaccinated individuals wishing to visit the reopened sites in the walled city. They will accomplish the mandatory contact tracing form when inside the sites and will only need to present it to security personnel before exit.
Visitors can check the schedule of operations of Rizal Park and Intramuros sites on their Facebook pages or web sites.