Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 18) — As holiday shoppers flock to malls, establishments that fail to enforce social distancing will have their business permits suspended, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año warned on Friday.
READ: DOH sees start of holiday COVID-19 surge, pins areas of concern in Metro Manila
“May mga report kasi na sa mall mismo wala nang physical distancing,” Año told CNN Philippines’ “News.PH.” “Well, hindi kami mag-dadalawang isip kung isususpindi natin ‘yung business permit ng mall na ‘yan kung hindi niya kayang ipatupad yung minimum health standards.”
[Translation: There are reports on the absence of physical distancing in malls. Well, we won’t think twice about suspending the business permits of malls that cannot enforce the minimum health standards.]
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Año, who is also vice chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the policy-making body in government’s COVID-19 response, said law enforcement officers will inspect malls and other commercial establishments in the coming days to check their compliance.
Aside from the police’s Joint Task Force COVID Shield, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as well as the Trade Department will also conduct inspections, Año said.
“Magdadagdag pa tayo ng mga unipormadong police, pati yung mga yantok patrols natin lalabas ‘yan especially sa mga tianggian, sa mga malls, sa supermarkets, sa palengke, diyan sa Divisoria,” Año said.
[Translation: We will deploy more uniformed police. Even our yantok patrols will go to bazaars, malls, supermarkets, wet markets, and in Divisoria.]
After earning criticisms from the public and even from Malacañang, Lt. Gen. Cesar Binag, commander of JTF COVID Shield, clarified that the rattan sticks or “yantok” will be used solely for self-defense and not to intentionally harm quarantine violators.
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte himself took note of the lack of social distancing in Divisoria, a popular shopping place in Manila. He urged the public to refrain from leaving their homes as the threat of a post-holiday surge in coronavirus infections looms.
Año on Friday also sounded the alarm as the Department of Health reported 2,122 new COVID-19 cases – highest in over a month. He said officials were not expecting infections to spike until after Christmas, but the DOH admitted early this week that it is already seeing “the beginning of the surge.”
The novel coronavirus is spread mainly through respiratory droplets and close contact with an infected person. To prevent further spread of the virus, the government has required the wearing of face mask and face shields, as well as social distancing of at least one meter in public areas. The country has recorded over 456,000 cases of the coronavirus disease even after months of varying levels of community quarantine.
