The Department of Health (DOH) issued a clarification on the Covid-19 situation of 26 areas under the Alert Level 2 status until the end of this month.
These areas “were not escalated from Alert Level 1; rather, these have maintained their Alert Level 2 status since June 2022,” the DOH said in a statement on Sunday night, April 23.
The agency also noted that Alert Level 2 status of these areas is not because of a rise in cases but because they have yet to achieve the required vaccination target.
“While these areas have reached low risk classifications for cases and utilization rates, these have vaccination rates lower than 70 percent of the target total and population and/or 70 percent of the total A2 population (senior citizens). Meeting these targets will allow these areas to be de-escalated to Alert Level 1,” the DOH said.
“The DOH is continuously working with the local government units of the identified provinces and cities to increase their Covid-19 vaccination coverage,” it added.
The agency also noted that “no province or city has been escalated to Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 1 since January 2023.”
To note, the government’s pandemic task force placed these areas under Alert Level 2 until April 30: Benguet, Ifugao, Quezon Province, Palawan, Camarines Norte, Masbate, Antique, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu Province, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Western Samar, Lanao Del Norte, Davao De Oro, Davao Del Norte, Davao Del Sur, Davao Occidental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Dinagat Islands, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The country’s healthcare utilization rate remains under a manageable level, the DOH said.
“The DOH continues to monitor our health system capacity to ensure that Filipinos can continuously avail of healthcare services. While some hospitals have reported some increases in admission, no hospital has reported full capacity,” it said.
Filipinos were once again reminded to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
“The DOH continues to encourage those that are still unvaccinated, unboosted, or under-boosted to get the vaccines as soon as possible while it is still free of charge, especially for senior citizens,” it said.