By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has made an official recommendation to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under the least restrictive Alert Level 1 beginning Mar. 1 as COVID-19 cases continue to fall in the capital and most of the country.
In a virtual briefing on Wednesday (Feb. 23), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officer-in-charge and General Manager Romando Artes said the recommendation has been sent to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and was unanimously agreed on by the MMC—composed of the 17 mayors in the NCR.
BASAHIN: Nilagdaan ng 17 na alkalde ng Metro Manila ngayong araw (Peb. 23) ang isang resolusyon na nag-re-rekomenda sa Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) na ibaba mula sa Alert Level 2 patungong Alert Level 1 ang National Capital Region (NCR) simula Marso 1.
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“The resolution was already sent to the IATF earlier today. The basis of the MMC to ease the restrictions in the region is to open up the economy to ensure job generation,” Artes said.
He said the positivity rate in NCR has dropped to 4.64%, “way below” the 5% standard of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The data he used was gathered by the Department of Health (DOH) and was based on the distribution of RT-PCR tests done and positivity rates by local government units (LGU).
As of Monday (Feb. 21), the healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) and COVID-19 bed utilization rate in the NCR are on a downward trend at 24.8%.
He noted that there was no notable spike of COVID-19 cases despite the ongoing political activities in preparation for the 2022 elections such as motorcades and caravans.
To address the possible surge in vehicular volume in NCR roads, he said the MMDA is eyeing the expansion of the modified Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or number coding scheme to include morning rush hour.
To date, the UVVRP is only implemented on weekdays except for holidays, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and only applies to private vehicles.
“We are studying to widen the coverage of our modified number coding scheme from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. I have met with the district heads of our Traffic Discipline Office. Based on their assessment, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., a light traffic situation is observed on major thoroughfares,” Artes said.
He said there are currently no plans on implementing the number coding scheme for whole days due to lack of public transportation.
Earlier, the IATF placed the NCR and several other regions under COVID-19 Alert Level 2 from Feb. 16 to 28.
Under Alert Level 1, all establishments will be allowed to operate at full capacity except in areas under granular lockdown.
Activities at full-seating capacity can also be conducted indoors as long as minimum health standards remain observed. (PNA) – bny
