MANILA, Philippines — Only Catanduanes, Benguet, Ifugao, Negros Oriental, and the City of Santiago remain under COVID-19 Alert Level 4, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
According to the latest information of DOH, Catanduanes is currently at high risk for COVID-19 transmission while the remaining four areas are classified as moderate risk.
“Mapapansin natin na ang mga lugar na ito ay mayroong (We can notice that these areas have) either high risk bed utilization or ICU utilization,” Dr. Alethea De Guzman, OIC-Director of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, said in an online media forum.
DOH data
Areas are classified under Alert Level 4 if they have a moderate to high-risk classification for coronavirus transmission and their healthcare capacities are greater than 70 percent based on the metrics of the DOH.
As of September 20, there were 97 areas in the country that are under Alert Level 4.
The DOH said that Catanduanes is currently under modified enhanced community quarantine while the city of Santiago in Cagayan Valley is under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions, and Benguet and Ifugao are under GCQ. The alert level system is being implemented in Negros Oriental.
Majority of areas in the Philippines are under Alert Level 2 classification for COVID-19, according to De Guzman.