MANILA, Philippines — All areas in the Philippines are now considered low risk for COVID-19 spread, the Department of Health reported Tuesday.
“All areas in the country, even those under Alert Level 2, are under low risk classification,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in Filipino.
The agency logged 4,131 additional COVID-19 cases, or an average of 590 infections per day, from March 7 to 13. The daily average was 35% lower than the average recorded from February 28 to March 6.
The bed utilization rates in the country were less than 50%, according to Vergeire.
“Thanks to vaccination and the practice of minimum public health standards, we have yet to see a new rise in cases in any part of the country,” the health official said, noting the “Deltacron” variant has yet to be detected in the Philippines.
Vergeire also said the government is continuously ramping up vaccination efforts in Alert Level 2 areas so these areas can be lowered to Alert Level 1.
Metro Manila and 38 other areas are under the lowest alert level, which expires Tuesday. Under Alert Level 1, most pandemic restrictions are scrapped.
‘Alert Level 0’
The health official also clarified that “Alert Level 0” is a term that government officials use internally and is not yet final.
“Ito 'yung term na it's like the stage in our situation right now kung saan magkakaroon tayo na mas manageable ang mga kaso, mas nakakaagapay ang health system, mas mataas ang bakunahan,” Vergeire said.
(It's a term, a stage, in which the number of cases is manageable. The healthcare system can cope with it and the vaccination coverage is higher.)
“It’s not a final term yet. Kausap natin ang ating mga eksperto kahapon at sinabi nila na baka hindi dapat ‘yun ang gawing terminology because it’s going to confuse people. Baka akalain na wala na tayong pangangambahan, hindi na tayong maging cautious. Baka maging complacent ang mga tao because it’s termed zero,” Vergeire said.
(It’s not a final term yet. We were talking with experts yesterday and they were saying that maybe we should not use that term because it’s going to confuse people. They might think it is no longer a cause for concern, that we should no longer be cautious. People might get complacent because it’s termed zero.)
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority earlier said mayors of the capital region are ready for the further easing of COVID-19 curbs.
The Philippines has confirmed over 3.67 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, with 57,625 deaths.