THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said it has submitted to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) proposed amendments in the country’s Alert Level System for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a press briefing, said they have recommended that the Alert Level System (ALS) should no longer be used to prescribe the level of restrictions in a particular area or community.
Vergeire said the ALS should just be used as a risk communication tool for local governments and the public.
“(This is so) we are all guided on what should be done depending on the risk level of a particular area,” she explained.
Vergeire said the DOH has also proposed that the setting of minimum public health standards and community restrictions be transferred to local government units instead of the national government.
The IATF-EID, she said, is still finalizing its response to the DOH proposals.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said the DOH has observed that the public continues to wear face masks despite the continued decline in COVID-19 and the government’s decision to make the wearing of face masks indoors and outdoors optional.
Proof of this, Vergeire said, is a recent survey involving 2,400 respondents showing that 30 percent of the adult population will still opt to wear their mask or will continue to wear their mask six months after the declaration that the pandemic has ended.
The same survey showed that 28 percent of the respondents said they will continue to wear their masks one year after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.
“We already have Executive Orders, where masking is voluntary for indoors and outdoors.
We leave it to our citizens to decide whether to wear masks or not,” Vergeire said, adding: “(Continuous wearing of masks) is one proof that Filipinos really found value in wearing of the mask and would really want to protect themselves and their family.”
Vergeire believes that one factor that has convinced the public to continue wearing masks is the stand of the DOH.
Based on the latest DOH case bulletin, the country has an average of 119 cases daily for the period of February 20 to 26. This is 7 percent lower than cases reported from February 13 to 19.
Broken down into geographical areas, the DOH said Metro Manila and Mindanao are showing incremental case increases, while the remaining areas still show plateauing trends.
