Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 2) — Most COVID-19 cases recorded in workplaces came from the service sector, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment said Thursday.
During a Laging Handa briefing, DOLE Asec. Maria Teresita Cucueco said the agency has received over 48,400 work accident/illness reports (WAIR) from companies since January. Out of the number, about 4,700 companies reported they had COVID-19 cases.
The government has ordered employers to submit a monthly report regarding their compliance to health protocols, which would include a tally of coronavirus cases.
“Ang karamihan ay nasa service sector — nandun ang trade, pagtitinda, iba’t ibang serbisyo na ginagawa,” she said, without providing a breakdown of the figure.
[Translation: Most of them are in the service sector — like trade, sales, and other various services.]
The service sector was followed by the manufacturing industry, the wholesale and retail trade including supermarkets and grocery stores, the finance and insurance sector, and the construction market.
“Itong top five sectors, dito sa report na COVID work accident/illness report na natanggap ng DOLE, ang may mga COVID cases,” Cucueco said.
[Translation: These top five sectors, here in the COVID work accident/illness report received by DOLE, have COVID cases.]
According to Cucueco, companies’ compliance with the DOLE’s order for the submission of a monthly report on WAIR remains a problem.
Cucueco urged companies to send their WAIR, with or without any COVID-19 cases in their workplace.
Last week, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the pandemic task force is encouraging companies to cut foot traffic in their offices and implement work-from-home arrangements amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant.
