MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said starting Tuesday, kids aged 12 and below are barred from entering the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach where thousands of families flocked to when curbs were eased in Metro Manila.
The DENR said in a tweet on Tuesday morning that this is following guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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“Children age 12 and below will not be allowed entry to the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach starting today, October 26, with respect to the guidelines of the IATF,” it said.
The DENR added that the dolomite beach will be closed from October 29 to November 3 in observance of Undas.
ICMYI: Children age 12 and below will not be allowed entry to the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach starting today, Oct. 26, with respect to the guidelines of IATF.
— ???? (@DENROfficial) October 25, 2021
The beach will also be closed from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 in observance of ‘Undas.’#BattleForManilaBay pic.twitter.com/FNmvdFQPHp
In a separate statement, the department added: “[W]e would like to strongly remind everyone that the National Capital Region is under Alert Level No. 3, we are still in a pandemic, and the virus is still present.”
The department reopened the man-made beach on October 16 for a few hours a day, after Metro Manila eased to Alert Level 3 status.
The DENR stressed that visitors must wear face mask and face shield at all times, but with tens of thousands of people flocking to the area, crowding was observed.
On Sunday, authorities started limiting the number of people entering the dolomite beach. Jacob Meimban Jr, deputy executive director of the department's Manila Bay Coordinating Office, has said that he directed the office's ground commander to temporarily stop the entry of people after the number of visitors reached up to 4,000.
"During last weekend when the beach re-opened, we gave them access to some 140 meters or 8,000 square meters of the Dolomite Beach area. If we see that a much larger number of people are going in, we are ready to open up to some 300 meters or 12,000 square meters – that is 1.2 hectares," Meimban added.
Metro Manila has few parks and public spaces. Shopping malls, where many go for leisure, have reopened subject to restrictions. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Franco Luna