Foot traffic back in city as businesses pick up with easing of restrictions

Crowds in the malls and busy streets of Iloilo City are slowly returning amid the downtrend in COVID-19 cases and the easing of the restrictions, but authorities are warning the public to be cautious as the threats of the virus is still there.

The once empty streets of the Downtown area in City Proper district are again bustling with the busy crowd, colorful merchandises, and ambulant vendors as economic activity is slowly picking up in the metro.

According to Lea Lara, former executive director of Iloilo Business Club, foot traffic in business establishments can be seen with the easing of the restrictions in the metro.

Even traffic along the busy streets is making a comeback, she added.

“We are recovering as you can see, may traffic, foot traffic in business establishments. We have been consistent in calling for the opening of our local economy as a condition para makarecover,” she said in a previous media interview.

Salvador Sarabia Jr. director of the Iloilo City meeting, incentives, conventions, events (MICE) Center also observed that flights have increased in the airport while malls are opening earlier and closing later than the usual.

“We observed that flights increased in the airports, malls opening earlier and closing later. You can feel the community is revving up we just feel that everybody seems to be excited, they want to go out but they also want to be safe,” he said.

Both Lara and Sarabia credited the downtrend of Covid-19 cases in the metro and eventually the easing of the restrictions to the strong partnership of the public and private sectors in Iloilo City and the massive vaccination rollout of the Iloilo City government.

On Nov 5, the Iloilo City government finally lifted the curfew after imposing the restriction for almost 20 months.

The lifting of the curfew was imposed following the de-escalation of the city’s quarantine status in November.

The Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) placed Iloilo City under Alert Level 3, the new Alert Levels System (ALS) from Nov 1 to 14 then to Level 2 for the rest of the month.

With the lifting of the curfew, malls and business establishments have adjusted their operation hours to accommodate more customers.

Events such as street food and night market became popular for the Ilonggo crowd.

Christmas designs and colorful lights in the different malls, plazas, and the main streets of the metro have also become an attraction for families.

Despite the encouraging economic activity in the metro, authorities are still reminding the public to not be complacent amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Remind lang naton although naghalog kita kag madamo na ang mga business nga nagbukas ginapahanumdum naton sa publiko ang minimum public health standards naton nga magsuksok sang face mask kag social distancing,” Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna Covid-19 Focal Person said in a statement.

The Iloilo City government has ordered the deployment of personnel of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) and Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) in malls and plazas especially during weekends.

“It seems that the people are crowding places because of our low risk level. We worry because people are forgetting the protocols. We just want to ensure that cases will not increase,” Mayor Jerry Treñas said.

Meanwhile, Lara stressed the importance of the consistent compliance of the public to the existing health protocols to prevent the sudden uptick of Covid-19 cases in the metro.

“Let us not be complacent because as what we have seen, quarantine levels can change in a blink. It’s not just the work of city government. It’s everybody’s responsibility to maintain and observe protocols,” she said.

The road to recovery is long for businesses, but Lara is hopeful that with the discipline of the Ilonggos, combined with the safety seals, compliance officers, and other investments plus the intensified vaccination roll-out, the city is slowly moving towards recovery. (ERS)