In order to prevent another surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, public health expert and former National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 special adviser Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon pushed the government to implement an Alert Level 4 status in Metro Manila.

In an interview over DZRH on Tuesday, Jan. 11, Leachon underscored the importance of placing Metro Manila under a higher alert level status.

“Ang kailangan mong gawin dyan, in a rapidly transmissible variant, is to slow down the virus. You have to do what is right. Kailangan itaas mo ang Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 4 para hindi kumilos ang mga tao at gamitin itong dalawang linggo hanggang apat na linggo para kumuha ng test kits, ihanda ang mga tao, at magpa-booster (What we need to do in a rapidly transmissible variant is to slow down the virus. You have to do what is right. We need to raise Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 4 so that people don’t move and we will use it for two to four weeks to get test kits, prepare the people, and inoculate booster shots),” said Leachon.

Leachon also reiterated that if the government prolongs the decision further, the Omicron variant may infect the entire island of Luzon.

“Sa nakikita ko hindi bababa ang cases, kasi sa bawat pagdami ng tao , mag mu-multiply nang mag mu-multiply ‘yan. Kapag pinatagal pa natin ito, buong Luzon ay kakalat at kakalat itong Omicron (Based on what I see, the cases wouldn’t go down because with each increase in the number of people who are sick, it will multiply and multiply. If we prolong it further, the Omicron variant will spread across Luzon),” he reiterated.

Meanwhile, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the healthcare utilization in Metro Manila has not yet reached a threshold required for Alert Level 4. However, he noted that it is “possible” for the region to be placed under this alert level status and that the national government is “preparing for it.”

Alert Level 4, the second-highest in the country’s alert level system, can only be declared in areas where the case count, the bed utilization, and the intensive care utilization rate are high and increasing.