Duterte adviser wants NCR alert level down to 1 by December

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion on Thursday pushed for the deescalation of the alert level in the National Capital Region to 1 by December should the COVID-19 cases continue to decrease in the region.

“I believe by December, at least December 1, we should move towards Alert Level 1 if… these cases continue to go down,” Concepcion said at a virtual press briefing.

“Let us not rest on that, let us take a more aggressive role in really vaccinating our citizens, especially in the provincial areas,” he added.

Meanwhile, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David assured the public that the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases is “not as significant.”

“There may be risks but we can always calibrate the strategy if we see a spike in cases… Right now, cases are down. As long as people are mindful of their health protocols, we are not seeing a significant threat in a rise in cases,” he said.

At present, David said the hospital utilization rate in NCR is at 28%. It also recorded a positivity rate of 3%, which meets the 5% recommendation of the World Health Organization.

For his part, Professor Ranjit Rye said the OCTA supports a gradual and safe reopening of the economy. 

“The basic position of OCTA is really towards a gradual safe reopening and we leave it to the government to decide what level that will be. But we have taken a position that we are qualified for level 2,” he said.

The Department of Health (DOH) previously said that Alert Level 2 in NCR may further deescalate should the country’s COVID-19 infections decrease to 500. — RSJ, GMA News

Duterte adviser wants NCR alert level down to 1 by December
Source: Filipino Viral News PH