The country’s Covid-19 pandemic task force is open to raising the operational capacity in establishments to close to full capacity when 80 percent of its employees have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this statement after Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion suggested raising the current 50 percent operational capacity in establishments to 80 to 100 percent after 80 percent of its employees have received their Covid-19 jabs.
He said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is yet to discuss Concepcion’s proposal, but noted that it may be considered.
Roque, however, said he has no information as to whether any establishment has achieved around 80 percent fully vaccinated people in buildings and workplaces.
He urged Concepcion to write a formal letter to the IATF-EID so that his proposal may be assessed.
Concepcion is pushing for “micro herd immunity”, where a particular commercial place, like an office building, would achieve full vaccination of at least 80 percent of its tenants.
He also expressed hope that with more Covid-19 vaccines expected to arrive in the second half of the year, the population protection level, or having 50 percent of the NCR Plus population being vaccinated, will be achieved between September and October this year.
The pace of the country’s Covid-19 vaccination has improved as the private sector kicked off its own inoculations with vaccines they had purchased.
As of July 14, Roque said the Philippines had administered 14,074,514 doses of Covid-19 vaccines since it started its vaccination drive in March.
Of the figure, 4,047,792 were fully vaccinated while 10,026,722 received their first dose.*PNA
