It's a good time to downgrade to Alert Level 1 or the "new normal" for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease expert said Monday, Feb. 21.

"Well, at this point, mukhang medyo kaya na nating ibaba (I think we can de-escalate) to Alert Level 1 pero ganun pa rin (but it's still the same), we still need to emphasize na pagbaba ng (that downgrading to) Alert Level 1, hindi ibig sabihin na we have to take everything parang normal na (it doesn't mean that we have to take everything like it's already normal)," Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) member Dr. Rontgene Solante said in a Teleradyo interview.

Solante also mentioned that he thinks that the trend is really improving, especially with the daily cases that the country has and "I think it’s a good time to really downgrade the alert level".

On Sunday, Feb. 20, the country recorded its lowest single-day tally as it registered 1,712 new coronavirus infections.

"But, again, ang panawagan natin dito (our appeal here) is we should not be taking out our mask and we should still remember the importance of physical distance and ventilation in enclosed spaces," Solante said.

Solante also attributed the low cases to the country's COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

"Malaking bagay ang vaccination natin. Tumaas na yung vaccination rate natin at marami na ring nagpabooster especially sa vulnerable population makikita naman natin ngayon na sa mga hospital bumababa na talaga ang mga kaso. Kung meron man naadmit most of them are still the unvaccinated population (Our vaccination is a huge thing. Our vaccination rate increased and a lot received booster shots, especially in the vulnerable population, we can see that in hospitals, cases are going down. If there are those who are getting admitted they mostly belong to the unvaccinated population)," he said.

Solante said that he thinks one of the success stories of the Philippines is the public's behavior in terms of complying with minimum public health standards such as the wearing of face masks compared with other countries which really contributed to the dwindling number of new infections.

In the fourth quarter of this year, Solante said that hopefully there will no longer be cases and maybe masks may no longer be mandated but he mentioned that the focus should be on what's happening now.

"We should still be careful, especially sa mga those may mga sintomas (with symptoms), you have to do the tests. You have to isolate and at the same time, ang pagsusuot ng masks (wearing of masks), especially sa mga areas na wala nang limit sa mga papasok, napaka-importante ang mga health protocols (health protocols are very important)," Solante said.