MMDA: Malls to stay closed if they fail to enforce distancing, health protocols
By MB Online
Malls should stay closed if operators fail to enforce physical distancing and health protocols to prevent the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Monday.
SM and Robinsons malls on Sunday (May 17) implement health protocols for the safety of mall-goers. (Photo courtesy of DTI/MANILA BULLETIN)
After several photos went viral showing alleged violations of physical distancing in shopping centers that caused alarm, mall operators advised mall-goers to observe the new safety rules, according to a report from ABS-CBN News.
"Kung hindi n'yo kaya ang responsibilidad na paigtingin ang physical distancing, mga mask, ganyan, eh huwag po kayong mag bukas. Huwag nating gawin ang mall ay maging center ng COVID," MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said. (If you can’t be responsible enough to enforce the physical distancing, the wearing of masks, don’t reopen. Let’s not make the malls the center of COVID.)
The government has started easing restrictions in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) which also allowed several shopping centers to partially re-open on Saturday, May 16, after a two-month lockdown.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the photos and videos that circulated on social media depicting the social distancing violations in the newly-reopened malls are fake news.
READ MORE: Social distancing violations in malls ‘fake news’ as crowd was only at 20 percent — DTI
SM and Robinsons malls on Sunday (May 17) implement health protocols for the safety of mall-goers. (Photo courtesy of DTI/MANILA BULLETIN)
After several photos went viral showing alleged violations of physical distancing in shopping centers that caused alarm, mall operators advised mall-goers to observe the new safety rules, according to a report from ABS-CBN News.
"Kung hindi n'yo kaya ang responsibilidad na paigtingin ang physical distancing, mga mask, ganyan, eh huwag po kayong mag bukas. Huwag nating gawin ang mall ay maging center ng COVID," MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said. (If you can’t be responsible enough to enforce the physical distancing, the wearing of masks, don’t reopen. Let’s not make the malls the center of COVID.)
The government has started easing restrictions in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) which also allowed several shopping centers to partially re-open on Saturday, May 16, after a two-month lockdown.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the photos and videos that circulated on social media depicting the social distancing violations in the newly-reopened malls are fake news.
READ MORE: Social distancing violations in malls ‘fake news’ as crowd was only at 20 percent — DTI