By Civ Alonzo-Cruz
Malacañang announced on Thursday (Dec. 30) that the whole country will remain under Alert Level 2 until Jan. 15, 2022, despite concerns on the recorded upticks of COVID-19 cases and the threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved the recommendation to maintain all provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities under Alert Level 2 from Jan. 1, 2022 until Jan. 15, 2022.
Nograles said in a Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 29) press briefing that the alert level in the country could change anytime, even without completing the 15 days given by the government if the IATF sees a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.
“Hindi po bawal na mag-increase tayo ng alert level sa provinces, highly urbanized cities, [kung] kinakailangan, without even completing iyong 15 days. Nasa guidelines natin ‘yan, nasa policy po natin ‘yan,” he said.
“Kapag may nakitang spike ang IATF sa isang lugar, puwede tayong mag-increase ng alert level kung tumama siya doon sa parameters natin for an increased alert level. We can accelerate [the alert level] immediately kung kinakailangan,” he added.
In the said briefing, Nograles also reminded the local government units (LGUs) to continue enforcing minimum public health standards and to implement a granular lockdown in case of sudden increase of positive cases in their areas.
“Kaya ang panawagan namin sa mga LGUs, please enforce [minimum public health standards]. Kapag tumataas ang bilang ng kaso [ng COVID-19], granular lockdown [kaagad]. Hindi po nawala sa equation ang granular lockdown,” he said.
“Responsibilidad po ng LGUs ang mag-granular lockdown kapag may nakitang clustering of cases. Huwag natin kalimutan iyan. Huwag natin hayaan na lumaki pa ito [COVID-19 cases],” he added.
Nograles said that President Rodrigo Duterte is also worried about the recorded upticks of COVID-19 cases. He said people should not be too complacent even if they already got vaccinated.
“Of course nababahala kami [sa pagtaas ng positive cases], nababahala ang IATF, nababahala si Pangulo [Duterte], nababahala ang buong puwersa ng Malacañang. Dapat ang taumbayan din po [mabahala],” he said.
“Hindi porket bakunado na tayo at naka-booster shot na tayo, nakalimutan na natin ang iwas. Ganoon lang po ka-simple ‘yan, kaya nga paulit-ulit nating nire-remind [ang publiko],” he added. -ag
