The Philippines may remain at Alert Level 1 until the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term on June 30, 2022, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
In a Laging Handa briefing on Thursday, Duque said that the possibility of implementing a lower Alert Level 0 is still being studied, but no policy has been developed yet.
For now, the government’s attention is focused on helping the areas on Alert Level 2 to be downgraded to Alert Level 1.
Measures are being taken to increase vaccination coverage, especially for senior citizens.
“‘Yan muna ang ating pagtuunan ng pansin kaysa ‘yung pag-usapan na ‘yang Alert Level 0. Maayos naman tayo sa Alert Level 1. Tingin ko baka ito ay hanggang sa katapusan na,” said Duque.
“Alert Level 1 muna tayo malamang hanggang sa katapusan ng termino ng ating Pangulong Duterte,” he added.
Duque had previously said that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and other government advisers are still discussing the policies implemented when Alert Level 0 is executed.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority had earlier said that the mayors of the National Capital Region are ready if the region is lowered to Alert Level 0.
Alert Level 1 until end of Duterte’s term possible – Duque
Duque explained that possible mutations of COVID-19 and hospital utilization rate are considered in the alert level status.
For now, it is said that wearing a face mask should still be kept because someone is still infected with COVID-19.
In recent days, the number of new cases of being infected with the virus has dropped to less than 1,000 daily.
“Let us be prudent and let us be guided by data and science through our expert panel. Konting pasensya, but pinag-aaralan po ‘yan. Darating at darating ang panahon na kung kailangan magtanggal ng mask ay bakit naman hindi? Pero sa ngayon, masyadong premature. Masyado pang maaga,” explained Duque.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported 598 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, increasing the total number of cases to 3,672,661.
The country’s active case count is 45,394, according to the latest data from the Health Department.
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