Manufacturing facilities allowed to operate during the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon are encouraged to shut down their factories to further limit the movement of people.
In a press briefing in Malacañang Palace recently, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez appealed to factories with one to two months inventory in their warehouses to stop their operations during the Luzon-wide quarantine period.
“Let your inventories supply the requirements of the supermarkets.”
“Actually, we will encourage you to even stop operation and let your inventories supply the requirements of the supermarkets,” Lopez said.
The trade chief added this would help to ease the queue of cargoes in the checkpoints and further limit the movement of people.
President Rodrigo Duterte had placed the entire Luzon under enhanced community quarantine until April 12, 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Establishments were ordered to shut down their operations but manufacturing activities related to the production of basic necessities, such as food, medicine, and medical supplies, and hygiene products such as alcohol, sanitizers, and disinfectants, as well as export-oriented producers, were exempted.
“We need to cooperate if we want to succeed.”
“It’s not the normal. We need to cooperate if we want to succeed. We don’t want to see after 30 days that we still have the outbreak here,” the trade head said.
He also urged manufacturers that need to continue their operations amid the enhanced community quarantine to provide accommodation for their employees inside or nearby their facilities to limit the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Lopez said companies shall also provide shuttle services for their employees as there is no available public transportation during the quarantine period.