Cinemas to make comeback in NCR under Alert Level 3; some college classes too

Movie theaters in Metro Manila have been allowed to open starting October 16 after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the proposal to downgrade the National Capital Region to Alert Level 3.

A number of colleges are also expected to open with limited face-to-face classes during the alert level that will be enforced until October 31.

Under Alert Level 3, the government has allowed 30% indoor venue capacity for fully inoculated people and 50% outdoor venue capacity for limited in-person classes for higher education and technical-vocational education and training, as well as cinemas and movie houses. 

Film industry

In a Laging Handa briefing on Monday, Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP) head Charmaine Bauzon said 7,000 workers in movie theaters lost their jobs. 

The industry also lost an estimated P21 billion income since cinemas closed its doors in March 2020.

Prior to the announcement, CEAP had also appealed to the national government to allow cinemas to operate even at limited capacity.

It can be recalled that cinemas were reopened in March 2021 but the their operations were halted after a recent surge of COVID-19 cases. 

Limited college classes

At present, face-to-face tertiary level classes have been allowed in medicine and allied health sciences, engineering and technology programs, hospitality/hotel and restaurant management, tourism/travel Management, marine Engineering, and marine transportation. 

With this development, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is considering the implementation of limited in-person classes for all degree programs in areas with  low cases of COVID-19 and high vaccination rates.

To date, CHED figures showed that 73% of personnel in 1,488 colleges and universities nationwide have already been vaccinated versus COVID-19. -NB, GMA News