THE Palace said that putting the National Capital Region (NCR) under the most lenient Alert Level 1 is possible, if the Covid-19 cases will continue to drop in the coming days.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles stated that key officials of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will be having a preliminary assessment of Metro Manila’s Covid-19 situation on Thursday.
It will be followed by a meeting on either Feb. 12 or Feb. 13, to discuss the latest Covid-19 data and numbers in different regions, including NCR.
“What we want to do sa IATF is the closer to February 16 ang aming assessment para yun ang latest numbers na makikita natin to make a final decision for alert level system for February 16 hanggang katapusan ng Pebrero (What we want to do in IATF is to make an assessment closer to February 16 so that we can see the latest number to make a final decision for the alert level system from February 16 until end of the month),” Nograles said.
Meanwhile, Romando Artes, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) officer-in-charge and general manager, previously stated that the mayors of the NCR are ready to relax restrictions within their respective local government units (LGUs), but that they are still awaiting the IATF’s final guidelines.
“Ine-expect natin na soon baka mag–Alert Level 1 po tayo. Ang mga alkalde naman po ay handa para sa pagbubukas ng iba’t-ibang industriya at sektor sa kalakhang Maynila (We are expecting that we will soon deescalate to Alert Level 1. Our mayors are ready for the opening of various industries and sectors in Metro Manila),” he said in a television interview on Tuesday.
Artes stated that the Metro Manila Council will request putting NCR to Alert Level 1, as discussed by its members once the Covid-19 cases will continue to decline.
Under Alert Level 2 are Metro Manila, including Batanes, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal in Luzon; Biliran and Southern Leyte in the Visayas; and Basilan in Mindanao until February 15.
