Top officials in charge of the policies in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will meet on Monday, Feb, 14., to discuss the new alert level status in the country, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año confirmed on Sunday, Feb. 13.

Año said the discussion includes a decision on whether or not Metro Manila will be downgraded to Alert Level 1.

In an interview over Super Radyo dzBB, Año said the shift to the less restricted Alert Level 1 system in Metro Manila from Feb. 16 to 28 depends on the inputs provided by the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

But Año admitted deep concern on the possibility of NCR being downgraded to Alert Level 1, stressing the difficulty of imposing the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) guidelines in the conduct of political campaign activities of local and national bets for the May 9, 2022 polls.

“Sa mga susunod na araw, kailangan talaga tayong magbantay pa, dahil alam natin na papalapit nang papalapit ‘yan, paigting nang paigting ‘yung kanilang pangangampanya, lalo na kapag pumasok na ‘yung local election period (In the coming days, we still really need to be on guard, as the election nears, their poll activities are getting intense especially when the local election period begins),’’ Año said.

“Pag sinabi nating Alert Level 1, minimum public health standards na lang maiiwan diyan tapos lahat pwede na, 100 percent na halos lahat ng activities, baka mabilaukan tayo rito (When we say Alert Level 1, only minimum health standards will be left and then everything is already allowed, all activities are almost 100 percent, we might get choked in this),’’ he added.

Año feared that rushing the shift of Metro Manila to Alert Level 1 will overwhelm its healthcare utilization again.

All regions in the country including Metro Manila are now at low to moderate risk for COVID-19 the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Feb. 11.

The DILG chief explained that low risk means that the average daily attack rate (ADAR) in an area is less than one per 100,000 population while moderate risk means it is between one to seven.

“Ang tinatawag na average daily attack rate ng Metro Manila ay nasa 10.8. Ang sinasabi natin na para maging safe is at least seven and below. Ayan ang mga ating dapat nababantayan bago tayo pumunta sa Alert Level 1 (The average daily attack rate in Metro Manila we are referring to is at 10.8. What we are saying is to be safe the level should be at least seven or below. That is what we should monitor before we shift to Alert Level 1),’’ Año noted.

Further, Año emphasized the economic aspect of the shift to the more relaxed Alert Level status but insisted that this should be done in a phase by phase basis.

Under Alert Level 2, certain establishments and activities are allowed at 50 percent capacity indoors for fully vaccinated adults and minors even if unvaccinated and 70 percent capacity outdoors.

At Alert Level 1 except in areas under granular lockdowns, all establishments, persons, or activities, are also allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at full on-site or venue/seating capacity provided it follows minimum health standards. (Chito A. Chavez)