NCR downgrading to Alert Level 3 possible; brighter Christmas looms ahead

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque believes that with more people getting vaccinated, the promise of a better Christmas this year is attainable.

Roque made the statement as Metro Manila marked its first week under the new Alert Levels System for COVID-19 (coronavirus) Response being piloted in the region.

In his press briefing on Thursday, September 23, Roque said the National Capital Region (NCR) being downgraded to Alert Level 3 from Alert Level 4 is not impossible.

However, he said this will depend on the decision of the Department of Health (DOH).

"'Yang paglalagay ng alert level, 'yan po ay nakasalalay na ngayon sa DOH at 'yan po naman ay gagawin in consultation with the local government units (The decision on the Alert Levels lies with the DOH in consultation with LGUs)," Roque said.

"Ako naman po ay umaasa na as we hit 70 percent and soon 80 percent, 'yan naman po talaga ang target population protection natin, eh baka naman makabalik tayo nang kaunti sa mga buhay (I am hopeful that as we hit 70 percent and soon 80 percent, our target population protection rate, maybe we can somehow return to our normal lives)," he added.

Roque said that with the way things are going, a better Christmas for Filipinos is right around the corner.

"Sa tingin ko po, mas magiging maligaya ang ating Pasko ngayong 80 percent na halos ang bakunado sa Metro Manila (I think we will have a merrier Christmas now that we are almost at 80 percent in our vaccination target in Metro Manila).

As of September 22, a total of 6,760,863 individuals in NCR have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This is 69.16 percent of its target coverage.

On the other hand, 19,376,832 people nationwide have been fully vaccinated.

Despite this, Roque reminded the public to not be complacent as the threat of the virus is still around.

"Dapat po talaga pursigido pa rin ang ating mga proteksyon laban sa COVID-19 kasi alam din natin na meron ding breakthrough infections (We should remain committed to protecting ourselves against COVID-19 because we know breakthrough infections can happen)," he said.

Meanwhile, the Palace official said it was early to decide if the new Alert Levels System will be implemented in areas outside Metro Manila.

"Premature pa po kasi kakatapos pa lang ng unang linggo (It's premature because we have just finished one week)," Roque said.

"Hayaan muna natin matapos ang ikalawang linggo at tignan natin ang magiging datos. Ganoon po ang proseso ng evaluation, dapat data-based (Let's get through the second week first then we'll look at the figures. That's the process of evaluation, it should be data-based)," he added.