MANILA – Nasa 150 frontline personnel ng mga quarantine hotels sa bansa ang napabakunahan na laban sa COVID-19.
Ito ang inamin ng Department of Tourism (DOT), kasunod ng symbolic vaccination ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) sa ilang manggagawa noong May 1.
Ayon kay Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, ang pagbabakuna sa mga quarantine hotel staff ay bahagi ng paghahanda sa nakatakdang rollout ng bakuna sa A4 priority group o economic frontliners.
Kasali kasi sa A4 ang ilang tourism industry workers, tulad ng mga nagta-trabaho sa paliparan, airlines, transportasyon, at mga hotel at accommodation establishments.
“Tourism has always played a major part in uplifting the economy before the pandemic, and it is only by ensuring the good health and safety of our tourism workers through their inoculation can we be assured that they will be ready once the industry fully restarts,” ani Puyat.
Pinaalalahanan na raw ng kalihim ang Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA); Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA); at Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP) para matukoy ang listahan ng kanilang tourism frontliners sa mga establisyementong accredited ng ahensya.
“The Department looks forward to the day when each and every worker with a stake in the future of our industry will be inoculated against this virus so we can carry on with renewed hope, and embark on our road to tourism recovery,” dagdag ng Tourism chief.
Noong Sabado, Labor Day nang bakunahan ng pamahalaan ang nasa 5,000 manggagawa sa Maynila, Taguig City, at Quezon City.
Sa ngayon rumu-rolyo pa lang ang COVID-19 vaccines sa grupo ng mga health care workers, senior citizens, at mga taong may comorbidities o ibang sakit.
