Pilot test of alert level system in NCR may be extended — DILG exec

PILOT TEST. A police officer keeps watch on a section of Parkland Avenue in Barangay
177, Caloocan City, on Sept. 7, enforcing an example of a granular lockdown amid the new alert level system to curb the spread of the coronavirus. INQUIRER file photo / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The pilot test of the new COVID-19 alert level system in Metro Manila may be extended beyond September, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Thursday.

According to Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing, the government’s sub-technical working group on data analytics will meet to review the guidelines of the alert level system’s pilot test in Metro Manila. He said there may be revisions to the guidelines of the new system.

“Sa pananaw namin, magkakaroon ng pagrerebisa. Ang pananaw namin ay baka ma-extend pa itong pagpapilot sa NCR,” he told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(We think that the guidelines may be revised, and that the pilot test in the NCR may be extended.)

Densing said among the factors to be considered in updating the guidelines for the pilot test is the healthcare utilization (HCUR) in the capital region. He noted, however, that some hospitals lower the number of their COVID-19 beds as the number of patients decrease, which could be a hurdle in getting accurate data on whether the HCUR is improving.

Meanwhile, Densing also said that the alert level system may also be piloted in other provinces and highly urbanized cities since not all local governments outside Metro Manila may be ready for the shift in quarantine guidelines.

The new alert level system being imposed by the government in NCR determines the types of establishments allowed to operate and at what capacity. The region is currently classified under alert level 4.

Under the latest guidelines on granular lockdowns, areas under alert level 4, which is the second highest alert level in the new system, are those with high or increasing COVID-19 transmission and high total bed and intensive care unit utilization rates.

Metro Manila now has 41,569 active COVID-19 cases, based on the tracker of the Department of Health. Nationwide, the number of active cases of the disease was 162,580.

EDV