MANILA - The Department of Health will monitor the reopening of cinemas following Metro Manila's de-escalation of COVID-19 restrictions to Alert Level 3.

Movie theaters may reopen at a limited capacity of 30 percent once the capital region shifts to Alert Level 3 on Saturday.

• Cinemas back limited resumption under Alert Level 3, say over 300k workers lost jobs
• Metro Manila on COVID-19 Alert Level 3 from Oct. 16 to 31

"They're doing vaccinations now in cinemas. For as long as the minimum health public standards are followed, we can give it a try then monitor if there’s going to be an unusual increase of cases if and when the cinemas are opened. But again this is controlled, regulated to about 30 percent," Health Secretary Francisco Duque told ANC's Headstart.

Metro Manila's alert level was downgraded as its healthcare utilization rate was considered as a "low risk" 50.92 percent, its intensive care unit occupancy at a "moderate risk" 66 percent, according to Duque.

"It's a tough balancing act between health and livelihood. That’s been a constant challenge to all of us. We're sensitive to both but not to the exclusion of either. These are not mutually-exclusive propositions," he said.

"The system calls for monitoring on a daily basis. No worries, we are nimble naman. We can always escalate."

The health department earlier confirmed that the decline in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila was "not artificial."

Government might relax restrictions by Christmas should virus cases continue to drop, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said after confirming that the decline in infections was "not artificial."

President Rodrigo Duterte said he was confident that major cities nationwide would have vaccinated half of their target population before 2021 is over.

• Duterte ‘confident’ vaccination target of major cities will be met before Christmas

The country has fully vaccinated some 23.54 million Filipinos, while 26.94 million have received their first dose as of Tuesday, according to government data.

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