All set for Christmas shopping? Starting Nov. 15, Metro Manila malls will be open until 11 p.m. on weekdays

Are your wallets ready to shop for Christmas gifts this year? 

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has officially announced the new operating hours of malls in Metro Manila in anticipation of the influx of shoppers for the holiday season. 

Starting Nov. 15, malls in the region will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Friday, instead of the current store hours (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) during weekdays, the MMDA shared in a Facebook post.

COVID-19 curfew has been lifted in Metro Manila early this month. In a previous media interview, MMDA chairperson Benhur Abalos said, “Dahil magkukumpulan na po ang mga tao, dapat i-spread out po talaga eh. Hindi pwedeng sabay-sabay.” 

“Ambag na rin natin ito sa ekonomiya ng ating bansa,” he added. 

Following the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Metro Manila has been placed under Alert Level 2 from Nov. 5 to Nov. 21. According to the IATF, areas under this classification are those where “case transmission is low and decreasing health utilization is low, or case counts are low but increasing, or case counts are low and decreasing but total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate is increasing.” 

The Department of Health has recorded a total of 2,800,621 COVID-19 infections in the Philippines, with 34,866 active cases, 2,721,516 recoveries, and 44,239 deaths, as of Nov. 6.