Metro Manila ‘ready’ for alert Level 3, DILG exec says

FILE A roadside seller of Christmas decorations has his stall filled with Santa Claus figurines along Dapitan Street in Quezon City on Friday, September 18, 2020 as the holiday season approaches. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila is now ready to transition to Alert Level 3 given the continuous drop in the number of coronavirus cases in the region, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government said on Tuesday.

Metro Manila would remain under Alert Level 4 from September 16 until October 15.

“Tingin ko po handa na tayo sa pagbaba sa alert Level 3, we’re just awaiting for the formal announcement from Department of Health kung kailan makakapagbaba ng alert level,” said Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya over Teleradyo.

(I think we are now ready to downgrade the alert level system to Alert Level 3, we’re just waiting for the formal announcement from the Department of Health as to when we could lower the alert level.)

“Napakaganda po ng pagbaba ng mga numero ng kaso sa Metro Manila, nakikita po namin ‘yung pagbaba ng reproductive rate, ng positivity rate, ng 7-day average attack rate dito sa Metro Manila,” Malaya added.

(We are doing great in Metro Manila, as we see that the number of cases is dropping, as seen in the lower reproductive rate, positivity rate, and the 7-day average attack rate in Metro Manila.)

OCTA Research said the current reproduction number (R0) in Metro Manila is now down to 0.61 from 0.83 during September 25 to October 1.

The R0 (pronounced as r-naught) indicates how infectious a disease is. An R0 of 1 means that each one carrier may transmits the virus to one person.

Metro Manila’s R0 of less than 1 meant that each existing infection would cause less than one new infection, indicating that the virus is in decline.

The cases in NCR from October 2-8 are now at 2,140, lower compared to 3,627 cases from September 25 to October 1, according to OCTA.

OCTA also said the positivity rate declined to 13 percent within October 2-8 compared to 17 percent from September 25 to October 1.

EDV