DOH on reopening of cinemas in NCR: We’ll give it a try and see

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said it would monitor if the reopening of movie theaters in Metro Manila would lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Cinemas in Metro Manila have been allowed to open starting October 16 after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on Wednesday approved the proposal to downgrade the National Capital Region to Alert Level 3.

“For as long as the minimum public health standards are followed, we can give it a try and then monitor. We’ll see if there’s going to be an unusual increase of cases if and when cinemas are opened,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview with ANC.

“But again this is controlled, regulated to about 30% [indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals]…it means there is spacing, then you have the face mask, and then the cinemas must have [or] they have filters similar to the ones being used inside an airplane. I think they upgraded their ventilation,” he added.

Alert Level 3 will be imposed over Metro Manila from October 16 to October 31.

Under this alert level, establishments such as cinemas and amusement parks as well as activities such as in-person religious gatherings and limited face-to-face classes for higher education and for technical-vocational education and training are allowed at a maximum of 30% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50% outdoor venue capacity.

Amid the worry of healthcare workers that the downgrade was done “too early,” Duque assured that the government maintains flexibility in its COVID-19 response.

“Well, you use the system calls for weekly monitoring of the cases that are registered on a daily basis. So no worries because we are nimble. I mean, we can always escalate,” he said.

The OCTA Research group earlier reported that all cities in Metro Manila are now at moderate risk as the reproduction number in the region decreased to 0.60, an indication that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

The Philippines logged a total of 2,690,455 confirmed cases, including 40,069 deaths, as of October 13. — VBL, GMA News