PNP: Easing quarantine status to Alert Level 1 may be premature

The Philippine National Police said Wednesday the country is not yet “ripe” to ease quarantine status to Alert level 1 amid the threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

In a statement, PNP chief Police General Dionardo Carlos opposed downgrading the quarantine status because more people are becoming complacent during the holiday season.

“The time isn’t ripe yet since it’s the holiday season and we have observed more people becoming complacent [while] outdoors, disregarding health protocol,  and unmindful of the risks,” he said.

He added that complacency may affect the compliance of the public to minimum health standards.

But the PNP said it will follow the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the designation of alert level status.

“The local government units are vested the authority to issue executive orders that police personnel are duty bound to enforce,” the PNP chief said.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health said the IATF is looking into whether it is the right time to lower the alert level in the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the threat of the Omicron variant.

NCR will remain under Alert Level 2 until December 15.

“With the threat of the Omicron variant, pinag-aaralan pong maigi ng IATF kung napapanahon ba na ibaba po natin talaga ang alert level,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

(With the threat of the Omicron variant, the IATF is looking into whether it is the right time to lower the alert level.) —LBG, GMA News