Capacity restrictions on almost all venues across Manila will be dropped from Tuesday after the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) agreed to lower the COVID-19 alert level for the National Capital Region (NCR) to Alert Level 1.
The new alert level will remain in place from 1 to 15 March before being reassessed.
Also reverting to Alert Level 1 are Pampanga, home to the Clark Freeport Zone, and multiple other regions while Cebu and Quezon City are among those still under Alert Level 2.
The new protocols for the NCR allow for the movement of all people regardless of age, and for full capacity in private establishments and government agencies, subject to minimum health protocols. Face masks are still required to be worn in public at all times and proof of vaccination must be provided to enter most establishments.
For Manila’s integrated resorts and casinos, this represents the first time since being ordered closed on 6 August 2021 that they will be allowed to operate without significant capacity restraints. They had previously been granted permission to reopen to the public at 30% capacity on 16 October 2021 when the government reduced the NCR’s alert level from Level 4 to Level 3 – which was increased to 75% capacity in early January.