MANILA, Philippines — Independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research is supporting calls to ease Metro Manila to Alert Level 2, as long as it is done in a “safe manner,” a fellow said Monday.
OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said threats of a COVID-19 surge are “few” considering that there is no new variant of concern reported in the country and that vaccination coverage against the disease in the national capital region is high.
David noted that more than 80% of the adult population in NCR is already fully vaccinated while 96% have at least received the first dose.
“Ibig sabihin mas bumababa na ‘yung chance na magkaroon ng resurges dahil marami nang protektado sa Metro Manila,” he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(It means, the chances of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases are lower since many people in Metro Manila are already protected.)
“We support ‘yung pag-relax sa Alert Level 2 para makabawi ang ating mga negosyo pero we should do so in a safe manner,” David added.
(We support the lowering of Metro Manila to Alert Level 2 so that businesses can recover but we should do it in a safe manner.)
David said minimum public health standards should still be followed and large gatherings and congregations should still be avoided.
He also said that the Octa group’s risk assessment on Metro Manila is at “low risk” with a lower average daily attack rate, positivity rate, and reproduction rate.
“Base sa aming pagbasa ng datos, it’s actually safe to reopen businesses at this time,” he said.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 3 until Nov. 14 but businesses have been urging for a lowering of restrictions to allow them up their capacities in their operations.
Malacañang earlier explained that the government maintained the Alert Level 3 classification over Metro Manila to avoid a sudden spike of COVID-19 cases.