President Duterte heaved a sigh of relief late Monday night, Oct. 25, following the continued decline in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country.
“We thank God,” Duterte said in his pre-recorded public address.
The Chief Executive noted that the Department of Health’s (DOH) three-day tally of new COVID-19 cases went down to the 5,000-level as of Oct. 23.
On Monday, the Philippines logged 4,405 new cases, with a positivity rate of nine percent, lower than the 10.3 percent recorded last weekend.
Duterte also cited the downward trend in the reproduction rate of COVID-19, which stood at 0.52. He said that having a reproduction rate of less than 1.00 was an indication that COVID-19 was being put under control based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
READ: DOH logs 4,405 new COVID-19 cases
“So OK na siguro ang takbo natin sa awa ng Diyos. Palagi tayo (ki)naaawa(n) ng Diyos kasi kawawa tayo pagka iniwan tayo ng Diyos (So we are OK in God’s mercy. God is always pitiful to us because we are at disadvantaged if God leaves us),” he said.
The President then advised the public to still observe health protocols and follow the rules for their safety.
“We thank God for the decline at 'pag magpatuloy tayo na sumunod lang sa gobyerno. Huwag mong tignan ang ano ganoon, sumunod ka lang, sumunod ka lang (and let us continue to follow the government. Don’t look what are those rules, you just follow it),” he said.
Metro Manila has eased into alert level 3, as well as Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Siquijor, Davao City, and Davao del Norte following the downward trend in COVID-19 cases.
READ: Metro Manila may be placed under Alert Level 2 in coming weeks – DOH
Batangas, Quezon, Lucena City, Bohol, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Cebu, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental are under Alert Level 2.
Under the Alert Level System (ALS), certain areas under alert level 3 and lower will be allowed more mobility compared to those under alert level 4. Some establishments will be allowed to operate under a 30 percent capacity for indoors and 50 percent for al fresco.
The less stringent restrictions mean that there will be no age limit to who can go outside their homes, although children are still not allowed in indoor establishments.