Marcos retains COVID-19 alert level system, eyes new restrictions classifications

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. retained the COVID-19 Alert Level System for now, Malacañang said in a statement released Tuesday.

Marcos however is seeking the reclassification of restrictions which would be more compatible with the current milder strains of the coronavirus, it added.

The President also said the alert level could be adjusted or improved if more people receive COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.

“To avoid confusion, we will retain the alert level system for now. We are however thinking, we are studying very closely, and we’ll come to a decision very soon as to decoupling the restrictions from the alert levels,” he said when he met with Department of Health (DOH) Officer-In-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Marcos met with DOH officials on Monday to discuss COVID-19 and the government's response to the disease.

The DOH can craft new classifications by the second week of August, Vergeire said.

Mid-August is a suitable time to loosen up classifications as this would give the medical community time to make COVID-19 cases more manageable, at the same time allaying their fears, Vergeire said.

For Senator Sonny Angara, the warning system that the government should implement must be responsive to the current COVID-19 situation.

"Siguro pinagaaralan nila at nagkokonsulta siya sa mga eksperto kung ano yung tamang sistema pero nakikita natin na nag-iba na rin ang anyo ng COVID so kailangan siguro kung ano man ang magiging warning system ay naakma sa anyo ng COVID ngayon," Angara he said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita.

(I think they are studying it and the (President) is consulting with experts on the right system that should be implemented but we already see that COVID-19 has evolved. So our warning system should be responsive to our current COVID-19 situation.)

On Monday, the DOH recorded 2,285 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day tally since February.

It was also the fifth straight day with more than 2,000 new infections.

Based on the DOH’s latest data, the country’s active cases increased to 20,524 from 19,873 on Sunday. This is the highest active case total since April 14, when 24,179 active cases were recorded.

The total number of COVID-19 infections in the country is now at 3,735,383.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries climbed to 3,654,218 while the death toll remained at 60,641.

Vergeire said the current uptick in COVID-19 cases is due to the Omicron BA.5 variant which is highly contagious.

The DOH official said based on current projections, more relaxed compliance to minimum public health standards would lead to more COVID-19 cases. However, this is preventable, she added.

Vergeire said due to the new variants of the coronavirus causing COVID-19, the virus' immune-escaping mechanism has increased.

This means that if eligible individuals do not take their vaccinations, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 may increase by September, she added, citing experts.

“So that’s why we really wanted to capture all of this eligible population bago dumating ‘yung time na projection na sinasabing September (before the time projected, which is September),” she said. —with Hana Bordey/KG/RSJ, GMA News