The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday (March 10) said the government has yet to discuss the “elements” for Alert Level Zero amid the further easing of restrictions as daily reported COVID-10 cases continue to decline.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said in the Laging Handa briefing that the current Alert Level 1 implementation is “so far, so good,” with new COVID-19 cases settling below 1,000 for six consecutive days despite allowing full capacity of establishments.
“Hopefully mapababa pa natin ito ng 500 [cases] or even less on a daily basis para talagang — malay natin, baka naman puwede nang mag-de-escalate to Alert Level Zero,” he said.
“Pero iyong Alert Level Zero ay pag-uusapan pa iyan ng IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force], ano ba ang mga elements ng Alert Level Zero,” he added.
Duque said the government’s experts and its technical advisory group are discussing the conditions for Alert Level 1 before the IATF issues a recommendation in the coming days.
“Puwede na bang magtanggal ng mask? Puwede na bang huwag gumamit ng mga … huwag nang sumunod sa hand hygiene, okay? O iyong mga ventilations, supisyente ba ‘no? So maraming mga tanong pang kinakailangang sagutin, at pinag-aaralan na ito ng ating mga expert panel,” he said.
Meanwhile, the health chief said the IATF will also discuss whether or not to place more areas under Alert Level 1. Currently, there are 39 areas across the country under Alert Level 1.
The metrics for de-escalation include low to minimal case risk classification, low risk healthcare utilization, and 70% vaccination coverage of target population and 80% coverage of target senior citizen population. – Report from Kenneth Paciente/AG-rir
