MANILA, Philippines — ABS-CBN will temporarily suspend admission of studio audience to several of its shows starting Tuesday as a precautionary measure in light of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
“ABS-CBN has decided to temporarily stop admitting studio audience to its shows starting today (10 March 2020), following the government’s declaration of a state of public health emergency,” the network said in a statement.
Shows with live studio audience, such as “It’s Showtime,” “ASAP Natin ‘To,” “Magandang Buhay,” “Banana Sundae,” and “I Can See Your Voice,” will be affected, ABS-CBN said.
“The safety and well-being of our studio audience, artists, crew, and production teams are of utmost importance to us and we are taking this option for their protection,” it said.
“We feel that it is our shared responsibility to help in preventing the spread of the COVID-19,” it added.
Earlier, GMA-7’s daily noontime show Eat Bulaga! temporarily suspended the admission of live studio audience.
The Philippines has so far recorded 24 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte has already declared a state of public health emergency and suspended classes in Metro Manila until March 14.