The local government of Quezon City has given a green light to hold mall sales, bazaars, tiangges, and similar activities in the city, but they should be done “preferably in open-air spaces or naturally ventilated indoor venues.”
Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday issued the city's latest general community quarantine (GCQ) guidelines, reflecting the expanded scope of allowable economic activity under the Department of Trade and Industry’s Memorandum Circular No. 20-57 s. 2020.
The local government said, the new guidelines aim "to help revitalize the economy and provide a safe environment during the Christmas season amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic."
“With our active COVID-19 cases now on a downward trend, we are now pushing various activities during the holidays that will open and jumpstart the economy and give livelihood to our citizens,” Belmonte said.
“However, we encourage them to hold these activities in open-air spaces or naturally ventilated indoor areas to help prevent the virus from spreading. This way, we will be having a safe and meaningful Christmas celebration,” she added, with the local government explaining that "based on studies, open-air or well-ventilated indoor spaces decrease the chances of being infected with the COVID-19."
Under the latest GCQ guidelines, mall sales, bazaars, tiangges, and similar activities are now allowed. However, they should be subjected to minimum health protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
The organizers of the said events are required to log all attendees for contact tracing purposes and are strongly encouraged to use a digital contact tracing method such as SafePass, the local government added.
According to the revised guidelines, malls must also enforce a limited capacity operation to allow physical distancing of at least one meter among all their customers.
They should as well set up queuing areas with thermal scanning of guests or customers and provide an adequate number of marshals who will enforce physical distancing.
The city’s Law and Order Cluster, regulatory departments, barangays, and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) are tasked to ensure that the latest guidelines are strictly enforced.