NEARLY 5,000 companies nationwide have been afflicted with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since January 2021, although more may have been left unreported, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In a televised public briefing, Labor Assistant Secretary Maria Teresita Cucueco said data from nearly 50,000 business establishments showed that almost 10 percent of firms have been hit by COVID infections in the past months.
“Since January until now, 48,000 establishments nationwide have reported to DOLE on the COVID WAIR (Work Accident and Illness Report). Of this total, 4,700 establishments had confirmed COVID cases,” said Cucueco.
She did not say, however, the total of companies in the country or the number of afflicted workers.
She said the service sector had the highest number of reported cases, followed by the manufacturing sector. Also having high number of cases were the industries dealing with wholesale and retail trade, finance and insurance, and construction.
“These are the top five sectors based on the reports submitted to us, the COVID-19 work incident report,” said Cucueco.
However, she added they believe the number could be higher because their ongoing labor inspection activities showed that most businesses have not been consistently reporting COVID-19 cases.
“The number 1 deficiency has been non-reporting,” said Cucueco.
