‘Staycations’ OK’d in 10 NCR hotels

MANILA, Philippines — More Metro Manila hotels are showing interest to operate for staycation purposes as the number of authorized hotels continues to grow, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said yesterday.

“There are already 10 existing (authorized hotels). Still a lot applying,” Puyat said.

Under Department of Tourism (DOT) Administrative Order 2020-006-A or the “Amended Guidelines on the Operations of Accommodation Establishments for Staycation Purposes under a General Community Quarantine,” all accommodation establishments in areas declared to be under GCQ (general community quarantine) must secure a certificate of authority to operate for staycations (CAOS) from the DOT prior to accommodating any guests for staycation.

The 10 hotels issued a CAOS are DOT star-rated hotels: Grand Hyatt, Makati Shangri-La, Okada, Shangri-La at the Fort, Nobu Hotel City of Dreams (COD), Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites, EDSA Shangri-La, Solaire, Hyatt Regency COD and Nuwa COD.

The DOT reported that there are 28 star-rated accommodation establishments in Metro Manila. Of these, 16 are five-star and 12 are four-star.?Puyat yesterday held an inspection of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Bonifacio Global City to check the health and safety protocols in place.?Under staycation guidelines, a guest shall be required to present a negative result from a rapid antigen test conducted on the same day of check-in.

Pandemic fatigue unavoidable – DOH

While experiencing “pandemic fatigue” is unavoidable, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday it is hopeful that public safety will not be compromised.

At a press briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire acknowledged that everyone is “experiencing pandemic fatigue or quarantine fatigue.”

However, she noted this should not be a reason to abandon the minimum health standards against COVID-19.

“We are all experiencing this pandemic fatigue, quarantine fatigue. Almost all of our countrymen now want to go back to their (old) lives. But we always remind them that we will never go back to the way we were,” she added.