The National Capital Region (NCR) may be placed under the Alert Level 2 in the coming weeks should COVID-19 infections continue to decrease, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday, Oct. 21
"Before the increase in cases last March and April, we were just averaging in NCR less than 500 a day. So I think that will be a comfortable number," Health Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
"If this number continues to decline, it is very possible that we can be de-escalated in the coming weeks," she added.
Vergeire also noted that Metro Manila currently has a seven-day average of 1,156 daily new cases.
She said the decrease in cases were mainly due to the interventions of the government including the better Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate or PDITR strategy and the improvement in vaccination coverage in the NCR.
While ICUs are still at a 70 percent utilization rate, hospital admissions are expected to decline, she said.
The positivity rate in Metro Manila is now at 11 percent and 17 percent nationwide.
Vergeire, meanwhile, appealed to the public to still observe the minimum public health standards and not be complacent to "reach that goal of having the Alert Level 2 in NCR".
“Hopefully magtuloy-tuloy and this is really the start of decline in the number of cases."
Metro Manila is currently under the Alert Level 3.
On Wednesday, Oct. 20, the DOH reported 3,656 additional new COVID-19 cases in the country.