Divisoria draws Christmas shoppers amid COVID-19

Shoppers rushed to Divisoria on the first day of December for their Christmas shopping for low-priced gifts for their loved ones.

According to Bernadette Reyes' report on "24 Oras," several shoppers did not observe minimum health protocols such as physical distancing.

"Ang mahal doon sa mall, mas mura dito," 71-year-old Belen Macaranas said.

Despite the threat of the more transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, shoppers said they want to be able to see the gifts in person rather than buying online.

"Kapag online kita mo maganda pero pagdating sa'yo kita mo iba. Mas maganda 'yong kita mong personal," Lily Galvez said.

This is the second Christmas to be spent by Filipinos amid the pandemic.

The country has so far recorded 2,833,038 cases of COVID-19 with 2,768,999 recoveries and 48,712 fatalities.—Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News