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Palace: No need to place NCR under Alert Level 4 yet


Malacañang on Monday said there is no need to place Metro Manila under stricter Alert Level 4 just yet even if the region's healthcare utilization rate is nearing moderate risk level amid the rising COVID-19 cases.

Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles made the response even if Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said there is a need to put Metro Manila under increased Alert Level 4 to prevent the healthcare utilization rate from reaching moderate risk level.

"On bed utilization, we are not hitting the metrics yet, and this is because the National Capital Region has 100% COVID-19 vaccination coverage," Nograles said on ANC.
"Those who got infected with COVID-19 [here] are experiencing mild symptoms, if not asymptomatic, and are sick for two to three days," he added.

As of January 9, Metro Manila's ICU bed utilization is at 52%, while isolation bed utilization is at 50%. Utilization of ward beds, meanwhile, is at 65%, while the use of ventilators is at 26%.

The threshold for these to reach moderate risk is 71%.

"We will not hesitate to do Alert Level 4 if the parameters reach the threshold," Nograles said. "We continue to manage the situation so we do not reach that threshold."

Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3 until January 15.

The Alert Level 3 protocol prohibits in person classes for basic education, karaoke and indoor entertainment, gatherings of people not belonging to the same household, casino/horse racing/cockfighting operations and contact sports except for bubble set up.

But given the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases, which hit a record high of over 28,000 on January 9, Nograles said the government is taking measures to increase bed capacity of hospitals, isolation facilities, telemedicine services and ramp up COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

"We have to be responsible for our actions in our fight against COVID-19. We  [in the government] are managing the situation as much as we can, we also have to manage our families and communities," he added.

In an interview on Unang Balita earlier in the day, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the government is not yet discussing possibilities of reimposing a lockdown or raising the quarantine status to Alert Level 5.

He explained that they are not yet doing so as the vaccination rate is high particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR). —KBK, GMA News

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