MANILA - The presidential adviser for entrepreneurship on Saturday said that physical distancing has posed a "problem" for businesses, as it would hurt their ability to maximize their ability to make profit.

"Social distancing is also a problem for many of the entrepreneurs, because the capacity ng isang restaurant it will not be fully utilized," Joey Concepcion told Teleradyo.

"The amount of traffic you get in your restaurant will be challenged with social distancing. We can't do anything about that."

• Dine-in allowed in general quarantine areas at limited capacity
• Duterte economic adviser eyes 'pooled' coronavirus tests to cut costs

The government has allowed restaurants in general community quarantine areas to operate at 30 percent of their dine-in capacity, provided they strictly observe safety protocols such as physical distancing.

"Over time, as we get more confidence and as we open more the economy as we do testing, the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) can calibrate better," he said.

Concepcion also urged consumers to support local businesses and visit their establishments if they could.

"We have to bring down the level of fear. OK rin ang fear para matakot rin ang mga tao [pero] sobrang fear, ang nangyari dito. Ang kumpiyansa nila to spend nawawala. Natakot sila to enter the restaurant na baka mahawa sila. Excessive fear is not good," he said.

During the interview, Concepcion said the private sector was also looking at pooled testing using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to increase the testing capacity in the country and maximize limited resources.

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