Expert says COVID situation in Metro improving
NOW is a “good time” for the government to put Metro Manila under the least strict Alert Level 1, an infectious disease specialist and a member of the Vaccine Experts Panel yesterday said, citing the downward trend in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the region.
“I think the trend is really improving, especially with the daily cases that we have, and I think it’s a good time to downgrade the alert level,” Dr. Rontgene Solante said in an interview with ABS CBN’s Teleradyo.
Solante also said in Filipino: “At this point, I think we can already downgrade to Alert Level 1. But I want to emphasize that the lowering to Alert Level 1 does not mean that things are back to normal already.”
The National Capital Region (NCR) is under Alert Level 2 until February 28. The stricter Alert Level 3 is in effect in Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Guimaras, Iloilo City, Iloilo province, South Cotabato, and Zamboanga City also until the end of the month.
Solante said, though, that lowering the alert level does not mean that local transmission of the deadly virus has already stopped, and reminded the public that the country is still under the Omicron variant phase and of the presence of the BA.1 and BA.2 strain of the highly transmissible variant.
Solante urged the people to continue to follow minimum health protocols, especially the wearing of face masks, observing physical distancing and regular washing of hands.
He said getting fully vaccinated or getting a booster will also increase one’s protection against severe to critical COVID-19 infection.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved and now recognizes the vaccination certificates issued by the governments of Egypt, Maldives, Palau, Albania, Estonia, Greece, Malta and Uruguay as proofs of vaccination for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols and interzonal/intrazonal movement in the Philippines.
Nograles, who is also the IATF co-chair and spokesman, said this brings to 64 the total number of vaccination certificates honored by the Philippine government.
“The IATF directed the Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation – One-Stop-Shop and the Bureau of Immigration to recognize only the proofs of vaccination thus approved by the IATF,” Nograles said.
The country has allowed fully vaccinated foreign travelers to enter the Philippines earlier this month, provided they are able to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before their departure from their country of origin, and a valid vaccination certificate.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) said tourist arrivals were recorded at 21,974 during the first 10 days since the government eased on February 10 its travel restrictions on arriving travelers.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, citing data from the One Health Pass, said the inbound tourists were recorded from the different airports across the country. Of the number, 10,074 are balikbayans while 11,900 are foreign tourists.
Puyat said the DOT continues to be optimistic that the uptrend will be sustained and will support not only the tourism industry but also the recovery and growth of the economy.
Tourists from the United States make up the largest chunk of foreign tourists during the ten-day period with 5,516 arrivals, followed by 1,366 from Canada, 918 from United Kingdom, 891 from Australia, 859 from South Korea, 572 from Vietnam, 459 from Japan, and 447 from Germany. — With Edison Gonzales
