Separate schedule for serving vaccinated customers urged

Some businesses, particularly some salon and restaurant owners, are appealing to have separate service schedules for vaccinated and non-vaccinated customers.

This is something that the government has opposed because of the threat of the Delta variant.

According to the owner of Reyes Haircutters, Les Reyes, all the staff of the salons has been vaccinated.

“People have to live, dapat may pagkain, may livelihood people need to eat… Kasi pag hindi maraming magugutom,” said Reyes.

Resto.PH agrees with this to increase the number of customers. But they prefer to separate the area for the vaccinated and not where a larger capacity will be reserved for those already vaccinated.

“Some people eat 3 times a day in the same restaurant, we can segregate ‘yung parang smoking at non-smoking area to protect the unvaccinated and vaccinated,” said Resto.PH President Eric Teng.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, on the other hand, objected, saying that many customers may complain and confuse the implementation.

Separate schedule for serving vaccinated customers urged

“Mahirap pa at this time to segregate and different timeslots. Will have many complaints since vaccine is still being rolled out and there might be complications sa implementation,” said Lopez.

For Presidential Adviser Joey Concepcion, the threat of the Delta variant must be addressed before the capacity increase is advanced.

“We are not asking for capacity increase at this time…Not now, wrong timing even if they’re vaccinated,” said Concepcion.

Concepcion is one of the promoters of separate spaces for the vaccinated, including public buses.

“There will still be buses for those who are vaccinated and unvaccinated. But there will be exclusive buses for the vaccinated kasi if you’re vaccinated you have to go to a bus kasi they have to increase most of the capacity of the bus para kumita rin sila. So the way to do that is to only put vaccinated people there, you cannot mix e,” said Concepcion in a previous interview.

The Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines approved this but said most drivers and conductors should be vaccinated first.