47 other areas on eased restrictions
THE Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) yesterday extended the Alert Level 1 quarantine category in the National Capital Region (NCR) until the end of March amid the improving situation of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the region.
The IATF likewise placed 47 other areas under Alert Level 1 effective March 16 until 31.
Aside from Metro Manila, the other areas in Luzon under Alert Level 1 are the cities of Baguio, Dagupan, Santiago, Angeles, Olongapo, Lucena, Puerto Princesa and Naga City.
Also under the same alert level are the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Romblon and Catanduanes.
In the Visayas, placed under Alert Level 1 until March 31 are the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Siquijor and Biliran; and the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Ormoc and Tacloban.
In Mindanao, the cities of Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao and Butuan and the province of Camiguin are under Alert Level 1 until the end of the month.
In areas under Alert Level 1, the “full operating/seating/venue capacity of industries, establishments, and public transportation” are already allowed.
Communications Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said other areas in the country that were not included in the IATF list are under Alert Level 2 from March 16 to 31.
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said all areas in the country are now under the “low risk” classification, with no new surges being observed anywhere.
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the country has seen improved numbers of COVID-19 cases.
“Thanks to vaccination and minimum public health standards (MPHS), we are not seeing a new wave even with circulation of the variants in the past days,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire said Alert Level 2 areas continue to increase their vaccination rates, which could be enough to warrant their shift to lower alert levels, while the high vaccination rates and continued adherence to safety protocols have kept the general population in areas under Alert Level 1 protected.
But despite the strong improvement, Vergeire said the shift to Alert Level Zero may still be unlikely.
“We are still looking at the possibility of us shifting into this new regime of Alert Level system. But nothing is final yet. We still need to look at the situation and monitor the areas of the country,” Vergeire said.
Under such a shift, Vergeire said they project that there could be a lessening of required response, especially in terms of logistics.
“We may no longer need to dedicate hospital beds to COVID-19 patients, non-COVID services will return, COVID-19 conditions may just be integrated to the infectious disease unit of the hospital, and RT-PCR tests may only be required for clinical management,” she said.
On the other hand, Vergeire said shifting to lower alert levels will still likely require the MPHS.
“One thing is sure, if we reach that scenario, the individual behavior should stay, such as wearing of face mask, self-regulation in crowded areas, physical distancing, and hand washing,” said Vergeire.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had earlier raised the possibility of introducing an Alert Level Zero in the country.
ALERT LEVEL 0
Dr. Ted Herbosa, a medical adviser of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said the NCR is already eligible for Alert Level Zero, or the removal of most restrictions.
Herbosa, in an interview with DzBB, however quickly clarified that he was not a member of the IATF which qualifies the alert level of the country’s provinces and regions.
“It (NCR) falls within the parameters (of Alert Level 0),” he said, noting that the NCR has a high vaccination rate, cases are declining, and hospital facility use is going down.
Metro Manila mayors are ready to implement more relaxed COVID-19 guidelines under an Alert Level Zero category.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Romando Artates and General Manager Frisco San Juan Jr. said local government executives in the NCR are “ready and willing” to implement Alert Level Zero.
“What we can say for certain is that all the Metro Manila Mayors are ready and willing to implement Alert Level 0 if mandated by the IATF,” Artates said, adding that they are just waiting for the guidelines from the IATF.
“The Metro mayors are ready once the IATF decides to lower the alert level to Alert Level Zero,” San Juan said, adding that the local executives “know what to do.”
However, San Juan said the mayors are keeping an eye if the COVID-19 cases will rise when the alert level classification is lowered.
Herbosa agreed to proposals in NCR to limit the use of face masks to places such as crowded areas and hospitals and allow its non-usage once an Alert Level Zero is declared.
He said non-wearing of face masks may be considered outside or if in an open space, and if the place has achieved high vaccination rate and low active cases.
He reminded everyone that COVID-19 remains present even if the active cases are going down and the alert level has reached the lowest level.Vergeire said no Deltacron variant of COVID-19 has so far been detected in the Philippines. “The so-called Deltacron variant has not been detected yet in our country. The only ones detected in the country are the BA.1 and BA.2, which are sub-lineages of the Omicron variant,” Vergeire said.
And based on their assessment, the head of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on COVID-19 Variants said there is no difference among Delta, Omicron, and Deltacron.
“Based on the observations of experts, there is not much difference on the manifested characteristics of Deltacron compared to the Omicron and Delta,” said Vergeire.
To note, Deltacron is a COVID-19 variant that contains elements of Delta and Omicron. It has so far been detected in France, Denmark, and Netherlands.
In a related development, the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) yesterday announced that its branches in the Visayas and Mindanao are now fully operational.
“The fully-equipped satellite facilities have begun genome sequencing services to detect COVID-19 variants circulating in the Visayas and Mindanao regions,” said PGC Executive Director Dr. Cynthia Saloma in a statement.
“This milestone of the PGC Visayas and Mindanao helps us improve outbreak determination, monitor virus transmission, and streamline disease surveillance,” she also said.
Saloma said such facilities are highly necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic remains present.
“No one can predict mutations of a virus like COVID-19. We need genomic bio-surveillance to help keep our health system ready for any possible new variants, and to track the behavior of existing ones,” she noted.
So far, the PGC Visayas has successfully sequenced more than 300 samples since opening shop.
On the other hand, Saloma said a total of 98 swab samples have been processed for whole genome sequencing by PGC Mindanao. — With Gerard Naval, Ashzel Hachero, and Edison Gonzales
