THE micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) cannot afford to have another massive lockdown amid the threats of a spike in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a TV interview that the MSMEs are worried already because their cash flows have been depleted following the imposition of enhanced community quarantine in 2020 and just earlier this year.
“Kung manipis na yung cash flow mo, tapos magla-lockdown ka na naman, ano pa ang matitira?… Mabigat talaga yung another lockdown [If your cash flow has been depleted and a lockdown is imposed, what more will be left of the business? Another lockdown will have a major impact on them],” Lopez explained.
If there will be another massive lockdown, Lopez said small businesses will be forced to trim their work force or temporarily close operations.
This is why DTI is pushing for a granular lockdown as much as possible, Lopez said. He explained that
essential activities are only permitted to allow the safe reopening of the economy.
The Trade department is also looking into expanding the operating capacity of establishments whose employees are all fully vaccinated with Covid-19 doses.
“Kung vaccinated lahat ng workers doon sa loob, hopefully, we can generate more customers dahil makokompyansa silang mas safe sa loob ng store na yun [If all the workers are vaccinated in a store, we can hopefully generate more customers because people will have confidence that they are safe inside],” Lopez said.
But such proposal has yet to be finalized, he added.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria A. Concepcion earlier called for the promotion of micro-herd immunity, which refers to a close system—such as building and commercial space—that achieved 80-percent vaccination rollout already. This is seen to help the economy reopen and recover safely as it will allow more mobility.
“I believe that if we are able to vaccinate 80-plus percent of employees in a building, that means herd immunity is achieved in that group, so why don’t we increase their capacity?” Concepcion said previously.
According to a June survey by DTI, the number of businesses that closed operations slowed down to 10 percent from a peak of 40.20 percent in August last year following the easing of mobility restrictions.
Less than half or 44 percent of the MSMEs surveyed have maintained full operations while the remaining 46 percent are only partially operating. The June data also showed that 53.8 percent of the MSMEs reported decline in sales.
Image courtesy of Nonoy Lacza
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