Alert Level 1 in NCR possible if cases continue to drop: Palace

MANILA – There is a possibility that the National Capital Region (NCR) will be placed under the most lenient Alert Level 1, if the Covid-19 cases will further decline in the coming days, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

In a radio interview, Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said key officials of the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will be having a preliminary assessment of Metro Manila’s Covid-19 situation on Thursday.

It will be followed by a meeting on either Feb. 12 or Feb. 13, to discuss the latest Covid-19 data and numbers in different regions, including NCR.

“What we want to do sa IATF is the closer to February 16 ang aming assessment para yun ang latest numbers na makikita natin to make a final decision for alert level system for February 16 hanggang katapusan ng Pebrero (What we want to do in IATF is to make an assessment closer to February 16 so that we can see the latest number to make a final decision for the alert level system from February 16 until end of the month),” Nograles said.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officer-in-charge and general manager, Romando Artes, earlier said the NCR mayors are ready to ease the restrictions within their respective local government units (LGUs) but are still waiting for the final guidelines from the IATF.

“Ine-expect natin na soon baka mag-Alert Level 1 po tayo. Ang mga alkalde naman po ay handa para sa pagbubukas ng iba’t-ibang industriya at sektor sa kalakhang Maynila (We are expecting that we will soon deescalate to Alert Level 1. Our mayors are ready for the opening of various industries and sectors in Metro Manila),” he said in a television interview on Tuesday.

Once the Covid-19 cases will continue to go down, Artes said the Metro Manila Council will request placing NCR to Alert Level 1, as discussed by its members.

Metro Manila, including Batanes, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal in Luzon; Biliran and Southern Leyte in the Visayas; and Basilan in Mindanao, are under Alert Level 2 until February 15.