Pasay defers cinema reopening amid Covid surge
THE Pasay City government on Friday has deferred the partial reopening of cinemas in the city as the city grapples with the exponential increase of Covid-19 cases.
Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano said the local government unit (LGU) would closely monitor and observe the developments in two weeks to allow a “fact-based” decision on cinema reopening.
“Much as I want to open up the economy more, but based on data and our situation, we will observe and analyze for two more weeks if we could indeed already allow cinemas to reopen,” Calixto-Rubiano said in Flipino during a “Bombo Radyo” interview.
“We at the Pasay LGU are aware that these cinemas in our city provide employment to thousands of people especially Pasayeños and give revenues to the city which we use in our public service programs and projects,” she stressed.
“We are giving due consideration to that, which is why we are balancing all these things,” she added.
Earlier, the Department of Trade and Industry has issued a memorandum to allow cinemas to reopen in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas at 25 percent capacity.
Studies have shown that those who are in enclosed spaces — like cinemas — for approximately one hour or more with symptomatic cases were at an increased risk of infection, according to the World Health Organization.
Octa Research noted that Pasay had a 203-percent increase of cases during a two-day period last month, leading the local government to impose a “localized community quarantine” to some households in 77 villages.
The Health department also said that three patients infected with the South African variant are from Pasay City. The local government said all of them have already recovered.
To date, Pasay, which is currently under GCQ, has logged 8,348 cases, including 553 active cases, 7,576 recoveries, and 219 deaths.