DILG Secretary Eduardo Año INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday that the country should remain under Alert Level 1 instead of the so-called Alert Level 0 in order to prevent a possible spike in COVID-19 cases.
“We should remain under Alert Level 1. Many countries are still experiencing surges because they dropped all restrictions,” Año said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
“While we are able to enjoy 100% economic activities, we still have to adhere to the minimum public health standards and continue the vaccination until we have inoculated the target population,” he added.
Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Romando Artes earlier said mayors in the capital region are “ready and willing” to implement Alert Level 0 if it will be ordered by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
Artes said there is still “no definite decision” from the Metro Manila Council on possibly downgrading the alert level status, and that they are still waiting for guidelines from the IATF so they can discuss it in the council.
Before this, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government’s pandemic managers will discuss the guidelines for a possible Alert Level 0, which could end most, if not all, of the health emergency restrictions in the country.
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