QC mayor stops opening of cinemas

QUEZON City Mayor Josefina Belmonte ordered for indoor cinemas, video and game arcades, theme parks, and funfairs to remain closed as the government evaluates the recent surge of coronavirus cases in the city.

The Department of Trade and We do not want to experience the Industry (DTI) has allowed the ordeal of having all our hospitals opening of movie houses in areas overwhelmed by patients, so we under general community quarantine will employ all means to stop it,” starting March 5. Belmonte said.

“We are very alarmed by the The mayor approved revised latest spike in cases and we will guidelines based on the latest issuances not allow this surge to continue. of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the DTI.

Under the guidelines, only persons aged 15 to 65 are allowed to go out of their homes.

Mass gatherings shall remain prohibited except for purposes of essential work, as well as government, humanitarian or religious service subject to minimum health protocols.

“We are now implementing stricter protocols in hotels used as quarantine facilities for returning OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) 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.

The revised guidelines also require business establishments to use the KyusiPass digital contact tracing app.

“For clarity, a lessee inside a larger establishment, like individual stores inside malls, should have its own contact tracing log,” the mayor said.

Digital copies of these logs should be readily available to the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) should contact tracing be necessary.

Belmonte said the CESU would be monitoring if the surge was caused by coronavirus variants.