WHILE acknowledging their support in Cagayan de Oro City’s Covid-19 response, City Hall officials called on the city’s business leaders anew to help them in requiring their customers to comply with minimum public health standards.
“(I noticed that) security guards of establishments are very passive in checking on the (Quick Response) codes and vaccination cards of those entering (their place). I also noticed that there are some of us who don’t even wear face masks outside anymore,” said Councilor George Goking, chairman of the 20th City Council’s trade and commerce committee.
Goking led a dialogue held on Friday at the City Council session hall with representatives of the Cagayan de Oro Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. and Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Regulatory Compliance Board (RCB) concerning the enforcement of minimum health protocols in their establishments.
Deputized implementors
RCB chairman Atty. Jose Edgardo Uy said a recent dialogue with nightspot owners culminated in them signing a statement of commitment that included their support to enforce minimum public health standards on their customers.
“We consider the compliance to health protocols is a big issue considering reports about the laxity in requiring QR codes and vaccine cards (from customers),” Uy said.
Covid-19 case numbers logged by the City Health Office (CHO) showed Cagayan de Oro City’s active cases averaging triple digits and new daily cases rising to double digits since July.
As of 10 pm on Aug. 11, the city logged 30 new cases, 27 recoveries, and 162 active cases. Of that number, about 72 are admitted to the city’s public and private hospitals, and 90 are confined in the city’s isolation facilities.
Uy said the city has an ordinance requiring QR codes from those entering establishments like nightspots for contact tracing by the CHO.
“We’re asking the business owners to check the QR codes and vaccine cards of their clients (to see if they’re authentic). They should become deputized implementors of (health protocols and guidelines) rather than be the subject of implementation,” Uy said.
Additional expenses
But when Uy proposed that marshals be assigned to monitor and ensure compliance with health protocols, officials Jeffrey Ang of the Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Stephen Tan of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. said this would mean additional expenses on their part which they can ill afford after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic.
“We are willing to help (but hiring marshals would be additional expenses for us). We incurred two years’ worth of losses (due to closures and limited customers) and one month of increased sales won’t cover our losses since we still have to pay our people,” Ang said.
Tan concurred, saying other factors like public transport should be factored in monitoring and preventing Covid-19 infection.
Despite this, both Ang and Tan said the Filipino-Chinese business community fully supports City Hall in its Covid-19 response campaign and Uy said they don’t want to suspend or close down businesses for non-compliance to health protocols.
“I know there are businesses that are compliant so I’m asking the business owners to help us in City Hall to double our efforts so we won’t see an increase in cases,” Goking said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)