THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) on Tuesday expressed its support for the government’s “no vaccine, no entry” policy for business establishments.

“Today, as we are in the middle of the Omicron surge, the ‘No Vaccine, No Entry’ policy of the government is a serious precautionary measure our business establishments need to observe to lessen the transmission and mutation of Covid-19,” CCCI president Felix Taguiam said in a statement.

The CCCI implores its member companies and all business establishments in Cebu “to adhere to the government policies in place which are only meant to help us survive this pandemic,” he said.

“As such, we remind every business to enforce wearing of face masks, physical distancing, regular testing and vaccination among your employees,” Taguiam said.

While striking a balance between life and livelihood is imperative, he said the ultimate goal of all the Covid-19 response efforts is to put an end to this pandemic because prolonging it will only cause more suffering to people and damage to businesses and the economy.

“Therefore, all measures to deter the spread of the virus should be our top priority,” he said.

The business leader also said the CCCI will always support policies aimed at curtailing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, grounded sternly on strong scientific evidence and medical experts’ advice.

According to the Department of Health through Project Balik Buhay, as of Jan. 23, 2022, private hospitals in Cebu have recorded a running total of 43 Covid-19 deaths for the month of January, while public hospitals have recorded 77 deaths, bringing the total running number of deaths to 120. “Remarkably, 81.7 percent (98) of these Covid-19 deaths recorded were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated,” he said.

“We all have our roles to play in ending this pandemic, and we must act now and do our part before it gets the better of us time and time again,” the businessman said.