The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under Covid-19 Alert Level 1 starting March 1.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Officer-in-Charge and General Manager Atty. Romando Artes said that all NCR mayors, through MMDA Resolution No. 22-06 (Series of 2022), unanimously agreed to “de-escalate” the capital region to Alert Level 1 by next month.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, for his part, said, “It is a must that we bring NCR down to Alert Level 1.”
“With positivity rates in the NCR now below the levels set by the WHO [World Health Organization], the NCR is ready. We hope that the IATF will consider this recommendation,” he said.
Concepcion shared data from OCTA Research showing the positivity rate in the NCR decreasing to 4.9 percent as of February 21, or below the WHO’s recommended 5 percent levels for governments to consider reopening.
For job generation
“The resolution was already sent to the IATF earlier today [Thursday]. The basis of the MMC to ease the restrictions in the region is to open up the economy to ensure job generation,” said Artes during a news briefing at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.
“The NCR’s positivity rate for Covid-19 is now at 4.64 percent, way below the 5 percent standard of the WHO,” he said.
Citing Department of Health’s Covid-19 Situationer in the NCR, as of February 21, the region accounts for 32 percent of the confirmed cases nationwide; the distribution of RT-PCR tests done and positivity rates by local government units (LGU) showed a Regional Average Positivity Rate of 4.64 percent; the Risk Classification and Health System Capacity by LGUs that out of 17 Metro Manila LGUs, only one LGU remains at moderate risk classification, while the rest are already at low-risk classification based on the two-week growth rate and average daily attack rate (ADAR).
As of February 20, the DOH Health Care Capacity Utilization Status in the NCR showed that the Health Care Utilization Rate (HCUR) and Covid-19 Bed Utilization Rate in the region are both on a downward trend and equally stand at 24.8 percent.
Artes also assured that local chief executives of the NCR are ready and fully capable of implementing the IATF-prescribed health and safety protocols under Covid-19 Alert Level 1.
He added that despite the conduct of political activities such as motorcades and caravans, no notable spike of Covid cases were recorded in the past two weeks.
NCR at low-risk classification
OCTA Research observed that this is the first time since December 26 and prior to the Omicron wave that the positivity rates fell below the WHO recommended levels. The independent research group also reported that the NCR remains at very low risk, with ADAR (or the seven-day average of new cases per 100,000) decreasing to 2.85, while the reproduction number remains stable at 0.21, or at very low levels.
Another key indicator, HCUR, remains very low at 25 percent. Neighboring provinces in Calabarzon are also remaining at low risk levels, with Quezon province even improving to very low risk levels.
“Easing restrictions here will be instrumental in how the country will recover and achieve a 6.5 percent GDP growth rate in the first quarter,” he said. With the new data from OCTA Research, he said that an earlier easing of restrictions is becoming more feasible.
“As mobility happens, economic activity follows. We already saw how it can improve our GDP to 7.7 percent when we opened up in the fourth quarter. If we hit the high 5’s or even 6 in the first quarter, that would be great. And with the elections in the second quarter, there will be even more activity,” Concepcion said.
“We cannot allow our debt-to-GDP ratio to go beyond 60 percent, and for that to happen we have to have mobility,” he said.
He expressed optimism that alert levels may eventually be lifted altogether, saying that a state of public health emergency may no longer be necessary given there are currently no variants of concern, the country has achieved a higher vaccination rate, and health-care utilization rates remain low.
Concepcion reiterated, though, that even with easing of restrictions, vaccinations should continue, and people should observe the minimum public health and safety protocols to prevent key indicators from going up again.
Number coding scheme
Meanwhile, Artes announced that the agency is studying the possibility of implementing a modified Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or number coding scheme during the morning rush hours.
At present, the number coding is implemented on weekdays, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., except during holidays, and only covers private vehicles.
“We are studying to widen the coverage of our modified number coding scheme from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. I have met with the district heads of our Traffic Discipline Office. Based on their assessment, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., light traffic situation is observed on major thoroughfares,” Artes said.
He disclosed that the MMDA does not want to impose the number coding for the whole day due to lack of public transportation.
The MMC, composed of the 17 Metro Manila mayors, is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA.
Image credits: Roy Domingo, Nonie Rees