By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
The Pasig City government has ordered the temporary closure of a bakeshop after its employees were found not wearing facemasks, Mayor Vico Sotto said Wednesday (June 24).
(Mayor Vico Sotto official Facebook page)
According to Sotto, the city’s business establishments monitoring team caught the workers of a bakeshop not wearing their face masks.
Following the discovery of the violation, the mayor said the operations of the bakeshop, which he did not identify, has been suspended for a week from June 23 until June 30.
“To all business owners, we want you to be able to do business smoothly,” Sotto said on his official Facebook page. “So please make sure you are following our health protocols.”
“Isipin niyo na lang po – kahit na kumita kayo ngayon, kung mag-spike na naman ang kaso ng covid, paano na? (Just think about it - even if you profit now, but if COVID cases spike again, then what?),” he added.
Sotto attached to his post a photo from the city’s surveillance team showing two employees inside the establishment not wearing face masks. In the photo caption, it said: “All employees found without face masks.”
As the threat of COVID-19 remains, food establishments are required to observe safety measures in their daily operations, particularly in how they prepare food to prevent contamination.
Aside from wearing face masks, businesses require their employees to wear face shields and gloves, while others provide hand sanitizers and install plastic covering on their store counters to separate workers from customers.
Sotto also called on the public to report businesses found violating the required health and safety measures.
“Please continue to help our monitoring team. Report businesses in violation of our minimum health safety guidelines,” he said.
The mayor earlier warned that the local government will suspend business permits of establishments found violating safety protocols as more businesses and industries are allowed to resume operations following the easing of quarantine measures in Metro Manila.