QC postpones reopening of cinemas, arcades
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte announced yesterday that cinemas, video and game arcades, theme parks, and fairs will remain closed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the city.
Belmonte issued the directive through a revised guideline released on March 5 based on the latest issuances by the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The DTI's earlier memo had allowed the opening of movie houses in areas under the General Community Quarantine starting March 5.
“We are very alarmed by the latest spike in cases and we will not allow this surge to continue. We do not want to experience the ordeal of having all our hospitals overwhelmed by patients, so we will employ all means to stop it,”
Belmonte said.
The mayor also ordered the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) to keep monitoring the surge as this may have been caused by the new COVID-19 variants.
“We are now implementing stricter protocols in hotels used as quarantine facilities for returning OFWs and travelers. We are also coordinating more closely with the Bureau of Quarantine to see to it that the mandated 14-day quarantine period is strictly observed even if a negative swab test has been released,” Belmonte said.
Other directives
Under the latest guidelines, only persons aged 15-65 years old will be allowed to go out of their homes. Those younger or older may leave their homes only for indispensable reasons.
Mass gatherings shall remain prohibited except for essential work, government, humanitarian or religious service, subject to minimum health protocols.
Passengers in public utility vehicles should be one seat apart, it added.
Wakes at home also remain strictly prohibited.
Libraries, museums, cultural centers, internet cafes, and computer shops of at least 30 meters in size, may operate subject to minimum health standards.
Time-based restrictions on liquor sale have been lifted, but drinking outdoors or in sidewalks remains prohibited.
Open-air parks may operate for non-contact activities such as jogging, badminton, and others provided health and safety protocols are observed.
Beerhouses, nightclubs, videoke and KTV bars, and daycare centers will remain closed.
Open, close
The current upsurge of COVID19 cases in Metro Manila will lead to the closure of local cinemas just a few days after they were allowed to reopen.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said yesterday that the Metro Manila Council (MMC) is set to sign a resolution that will "temporarily suspend" the operation of such establishments in the light of the "alarming" rise in COVID-19 cases.
"Ang term is 'temporarily suspended' ang movie (houses), cinemas, and the arcades. Ito'y magkakaroon ng resolusyon, iikot ito at pipirmahan tomorrow (The term used was, movie houses, cinemas, and the arcades will be 'temporarily suspended'. A resolution will be made, it will make the rounds and then get signed tomorrow)," Abalos said in a DZBB radio interview.
Abalos gave no other details about the directive, but said it was just temporary and that further actions will depend on the monitoring of positive cases.
The MMC is composed of the 17 mayors in Metro Manila or the National Capital Region NCR). It is the policy-making body of the MMDA.
Cinemas were allowed to operate again last March 5 at only 25 percent capacity. The NCR, the center of commerce in the country, is still under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Abalos said active COVID-19 cases in the metropolis jumped from around 3,700 during the last week of February to around 6,600 this past week.
"Talagang may upsurge. To use the term is medyo alarming, hindi siya normal (There's really an upsurge. It is very alarming, it's not normal)," said the former Mandaluyong City mayor.
He said the Metro Manila mayors had a four-hour meeting with Department of Health (DOH) officials on Saturday.