GGRAsia – Manila casino says still shut, Level 4 lockdown to Oct 15

Manila casino says still shut, Level 4 lockdown to Oct 15

Oct 04, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

An Entertainment City casino resort has confirmed its gaming floor will remain closed for now, coinciding with the Philippine government saying Metro Manila will continue under the second-strictest anti-Covid-19 alert level until at least October 15.

Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured), run by Philippines-based Bloomberry Resorts Corp, said on its website that its “gaming activities were not operational during this time” and that it was “unable” to accept new hotel reservations.

Only the dining outlets and shops at Solaire are open, and only those older than 18 and below 66 are allowed to use them.

City of Dreams Manila, operated by a unit of Macau licensee Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, issued a status update, stressing that staycations are not allowed.

The update emphasised however that government guidelines and a Safety Seal Certification granted to City of Dreams Manila mean that the resort’s restaurants can welcome more diners.

The property’s indoor dining venues can use up 30 percent of their capacity but only for clients fully vaccinated, whereas outdoor dining spaces can go up to 40 percent capacity, regardless of vaccination status of users.

The Philippine Trade Secretary, Ramon Lopez was cited by the country’s media on Thursday, as saying that the whole of the capital region would remain under “Alert Level 4” for at least two more weeks.

This is the second-strictest of the four-level alert protocol introduced to monitor so-called “granular lockdowns” in specific areas. It determines restrictions on certain activities in specific areas of Metro Manila, including on casinos.

Under Alert Level 4, casinos, lottery and betting shops, and other gaming venues must stay closed, except if given the green light either by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, or the Office of the President, Rodrigo Duterte, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force guidelines.

Under “Alert Level 3”, casinos can operate at 30 percent of their venue capacity. Up to 50 percent capacity is permitted under “Alert Level 2”. “Alert Level 1” would have the least restrictions, allowing casinos to operate at full capacity.

Instead of a blanket downgrade in lockdown for the whole of Metro Manila, the system foresees “granular lockdown measures” on certain areas such as either neighbourhoods, streets or subdivisions identified as high risk for Covid-19.