ALL regions in the country are now at low to minimal risk from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the Department of Health (DOH).
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the national risk classification remains at low risk, consistent with those of its regions.
“All regions are now at minimal to low risk is classification, with negative two-week growth rates and average daily attack rates (ADAR) of less than seven per 100,000 population,” said Vergeire.
Currently at “minimal risk” classification are Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The remaining 14 regions, including the National Capital Region, are all at “low risk” classifications, said the DOH.
Nationally, the health department said the country saw a negative 49 percent growth rate in the past two weeks.
On the other hand, the country’s average daily attack rate is at 1.55 per 100,000 population.
The health department also said only 13 areas are under Alert Levels 3 or 4, while “majority (89%) of areas are now under Alert Level 2 with minimal to low-risk case classification.”
Twelve areas are under Alert Level 3, namely Apayao, Baguio City, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Batanes, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Siquijor, City of Isabela, Zamboanga City, Dinagat Islands, and Sulu.
The lone area that is under Alert Level 4 is Catanduanes.
Vergeire said alert level assessments will be done every 15th and 30th of the month.
“However, escalations may be recommended, if at all warranted,” said Vergeire.
Yesterday, the Alert Level System took effect in the entire country after it was initially pilot tested in Metro Manila.
The DOH stressed that the possibility of cases still increasing before the year ends remains possible, given the increase in the mobility of people coupled with the possible easing of adherence to minimum public health standards (MPHS) amid the Christmas season
Based on their projection, Vergeire said active COVID-19 cases in the country may go up to 27,538 by December 31 if the mobility is increased to 98 percent and MPHS adherence drops by 22 percent.
On the other hand, the health official said active COVID-19 cases in the country may decline to 10,122 by December 31 if the mobility is pegged at 90 percent and the current MPHS adherence is sustained.
As of November 21, the active cases in the country stood at 21,101 cases.
Meanwhile, Vergeire expressed hope that the country will be able to avoid a similar fate with that of Europe, which is facing a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections.
“Let us all comply with the minimum public health standards, safety protocols so that we will be able to sustain the low risk level of the country,” aaid Vergeire.
“We are giving early warnings on what is happening in other countries so that we won’t reach a similar situation. Hopefully, it will not happen to us,” she added.
She said they believe that the continued requirement of the minimum health protocols in the country will help prevent a new wave of infections.
“One of the major differences (with Europe) is that when they relaxed restrictions, they included the removal of minimum public health standards, like wearing of mask and others,” said Vergeire.
Nevertheless, the health official stressed that the country must continue to be prepared in the event of a surge.
“We are continuously increasing the capacity of each local government into employing different strategies, such as granular lockdowns, alert level system, and increasing vaccination coverage,” said Vergeire.
In recent weeks, a new wave of COVID-19 cases has hit Europe with more countries seeing record numbers of daily infections. Among the countries that are seeing a fresh surge in cases are Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, and Croatia.
