The government's pandemic task force is set to discuss the parameters about placing some areas under "Alert Level 0" amid the decreasing number of Covid-19 cases in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are eyeing to further de-escalate some areas under Alert Level 0.
“So far, so good naman yung ating Alert Level 1. Kahit na nag maximum/100 percent capacity na yung establisyimento patuloy naman na bumababa yung ating mga kaso (So far, so good. Even though establishments are operating maximum/100 percent capacity, our cases continue to decrease),” he said in a public briefing.
“Anim na araw na tayong below 1,000 cases daily but hopefully mapababa pa natin ito ng 500 or even less on a daily basis para talagang---malay natin baka naman pwede ng mag de-escalate to Alert Level 0 (We have been recording below 1,000 cases daily for six days and hopefully we can lower it to 500 daily or even less. With such, we might be able to de-escalate to Alert Level 0),” he added.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will discuss the possible “elements” of Alert Level 0, said Duque.
“Pero yung Alert Level 0 ay paguusapan pa iyan ng IATF, ano ba ang elements ng Alert Level 0. Kasi ang tanong, halimbawa sa Alert Level 0, pwede na bang magtanggal ng mask? Pwede bang huwag sumunod sa hand hygiene, yung mga ventilation sufficient ba? (The Alert Level 0 will be discussed by the IATF—what would be the elements of Alert Level 0. Because the question is, for example, will the mask mandate be removed? Is proper hand hygiene no longer necessary? Is the requirements on ventilation already sufficient? ),” he said.
“So, maraming tanong pa ang kailangan sagutin at pinag aaralan ito ng ating expert panel, advisory group natin (there are many questions that need to be answered and our expert panel and our advisory group are studying that),” he added.
For now, Duque said they will discuss if other areas can now be placed under Alert Level 1. Currently, Metro Manila and 38 other areas are under Alert Level 1.
“Tatalakayin yan mamaya sa IATF para tingnan ito bang mga nasa labas ng naunang 39 provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities, ay pwedeng pang maisama sa susunod na evaluation at ma deescalate (That will be discussed later at the IATF meeting to see which areas; aside from the 39 provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities; can be de-escalated to Alert Level 1),” he said.