DOH says 5 areas in NCR under moderate risk for Covid-19

FILE: Commuters wearing face masks and face shields wait at a bus stop along Commonwealth Avenue in Fairview, Quezon City on Monday morning (Sept. 28, 2020). (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday classified four cities and one municipality in Metro Manila under “moderate risk” for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday classified four cities and one municipality in Metro Manila under “moderate risk” for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the risk level was escalated in Pasig, San Juan, Quezon City, Marikina, and Pateros based on the two-week growth rate, average daily attack rate, and hospital utilization rate.

This does not mean, however, that Metro Manila will be placed under Alert Level 2 immediately because data does not yet indicate the need for escalation.

“Kaya sila napunta sa moderate risk classification ay dahil nag-umpisa tayo sa mabababang kaso noong mga past weeks tapos biglang nagkaroon sila ng kaso that’s why their growth rate began to increase– nagkaroon ng more than 200 percent increase (They were classified as moderate risk because of the sudden rise in cases, but this is because they started at few cases and their growth rate increased by more than 200 percent),” she said in a Laging Handa briefing.

“Computation ’yan at hindi kailangang mabahala pero kailangan vigilant tayo lahat (That’s only computation and is no cause for panic but we should always be vigilant).”

Vergeire said transmission of the disease is given since Covid-19 is infectious, which is why DOH monitors hospital admission for severe and critical cases more closely.

Of the five, only one recorded an increase in hospital utilization rate but the rest are “less than 50 percent”.

“For now, escalation to Alert Level 2 hindi pa natin nakikita (we do not see it yet). Although we cannot say kung by next week biglang magtaas (if by next week we see a sudden increase) that’s the time that we are going to decide and it’s going to be the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) to decide,” she said.