Metro Manila mayors have "unanimously" agreed to recommend Alert Level 1 in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting March 1, according to Metro Manila Council chair and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.
Olivarez said they made the recommendation after a meeting among the NCR mayors on Tuesday.
"Unanimously 'yung 17 mayors po ng [local government units], based on the consultation po namin sa aming mga local task force, ay aming recommendation sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) na Alert Level 1 starting March 1," Olivarez told DZRH.
(The 17 mayors of local government units, based on our consultation with our local task force, we unanimously recommend Alert Level 1 to the IATF starting March 1.)
According to the local executive, their decision was based on the cities' risk classification, with the entire Metro Manila now classified under low risk.
"Aside po diyan ay 'yung ating health care utilization rate, below 30% na po 'yung ating paggamit ng mga ICU, ng ating mga COVID bed all over Metro Manila," he added.
(Aside from that is our health care utilization rate, ICU use is already below 30%, as well as for COVID beds all over Metro Manila.)
The recommendation was also attributed to declining COVID-19 cases, and high vaccination rate across Metro Manila's targeted population.
"At higit pa po rito, ang maganda po rito, 'yung huling resulta po ng ating DOH (Department of Health) na binigay po sa amin, 'yung postivity rate nung mga nagpapa-test, less than five percent na po ang nagpo-positive, na 'yun po ang nirerekomenda ng World Health Organization," Olivarez said.
(Most of all, another good thing, the Department of Health gave us the last result which showed that the positivity rate of those getting tested is already less than 5%, which is the recommendation of the World Health Organization.)
The 'new normal'
The Parañaque mayor described Alert Level 1 as the "new normal" amid the pandemic, with minimum public health standards still in place.
While capacities for activities are eased to 100%, Olivarez said mandatory mask-wearing will remain in place.
The local executive, however, clarified that the MMC's decision is just a recommendation to the IATF, which will still decide on the final alert level in Metro Manila starting March.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 2, but various groups have been calling for de-escalation to Alert Level 1 due to decreasing COVID-19 cases and to give way for more businesses to operate.
