WATCH

Malls impose anti-COVID-19 protocols as they reopen under modified ECQ

Some malls that reopened on Saturday have started to implement safety protocols that will be part of the "new normal" as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to threaten the country.

According to a report by Mai Bermudez in "24 Oras," a mall in Libis, Quezon City had its employees take rapid COVID-19 tests prior to its reopening.

A social distancing ambassador is stationed on its floor to ensure that people keep their distance from each other.

Shoppers taking the escalator have to undergo UV disinfection and have to stay three steps apart.

Still, only a handful of stores have opened because their employees are hampered by the lack of public transportation.

In Quezon City's biggest mall, markings on the entrance floor remind visitors to keep their distance from others. Security guards also conduct temperature checks on those who enter.

It also imposes a "no face mask, no entry" rule, and those who enter the mall have to disinfect their hands with alcohol.

Testers in makeup and cosmetic products are disallowed in beauty shops.

Only around a hundred stores out of its usual 800 have opened in said mall, but more are set to open in the following days.

Metro Manila shifted to a modified enhanced community quarantine on Saturday, May 16, after two months of strict ECQ.

Under the modified ECQ, businesses were given the go-signal to operate, albeit with guidelines and conditions.

—JCB, GMA News