FURTHER easing of minimum health standards in Metro Manila and other Alert Level 1 areas will no longer be possible until the entire country is able to meet their vaccination targets, according to the Department of Health.
In a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire explained that a requirement for the declaration of Alert Level 0 or the so-called “new normal” is for all the regions, cities and municipalities to be placed under Alert Level 1.
“When we talk about the next [lower] level after Alert Level 1, it will not be per area, but for the entire country,” Vergeire said.
Under the Alert Level System of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), an area is classified from Alert Level 1 to 5, with 1 having the lowest Covid-19 public health risk, and 5 having the highest risk. Among the requirements for an area to be placed under Alert Level 1 is for 70 percent of its target population and 80 percent of its senior citizens to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The healthcare utilization for the said areas should also be less than 50 percent and its infection cases should also be at a “manageable” level.
“Once we achieve this for the entire Philippines, we can talk about the easing of restrictions and refocusing of our resources where it will be necessary,” Vergeire said.
Currently, only Metro Manila and 47 other areas in the country are under Alert Level 1, while the rest of the country is placed under Alert Level 2. The latest list of Alert Level classification will last until March 2, 2022.
Business leaders are pushing for the implementation of the “new normal” in the country since it is expected to boost business confidence.