17/03/2022
SIQUIJOR ISLAND STILL UNDER COVID ALERT LEVEL 1 for the next 15 days due to low vaccination compliance.
TOP STORY: The Department of Health yesterday explained why only Cebu City and Siquijor have been placed under Alert Level 1 status for the next 15 days among the local government units in Central Visayas.
According to DOH-7 chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) use four metrics in deciding to de-escalate the alert level status of a place – 1) case load, 2) capacity utilization rate, 3) fully vaccinated total eligible vaccination which must be at least 70 percent, and 4) fully vaccinated senior citizens or A2 priority group which must be at least 80 percent.
Loreche said Lapu-Lapu City satisfied the first three requirements but it is still short on A2 vaccination.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan is optimistic that the city will be put under alert level 1 once they will be able to reconcile data on the senior citizens vaccination as there are some seniors from his city who were vaccinated in Cebu City.
As for Mandaue City, it satisfied all the three requirements but its data on A2 still have also yet to be reconciled.
Cebu province satisfied requirements 1 and 2 but still has to work on numbers 3 and 4.
TIMELY
Meanwhile, the de-escalation to Alert Level 1 of some major cities and provinces, including Cebu City, is timely, said Secretary Vince Dizon. He said that these LGUs can now focus on economic activities, especially at a time of international oil price hike amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“This is very timely. Kailangan po talaga natin paandarin ang ating mga ekonomiya para labanan itong mga napakabigat na problema natin na nanggagaling sa labas ng ating bansa tulad ng presyo ng krudo at ng kuryente,” said Dizon to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Talk to the People program aired yesterday.
Dizon said nine more highly urbanized cities and provinces have been deescalated to Alert Level 1, including the cities of Cebu, Ormoc, Tacloban, Lucena, Iloilo and Butuan, along with the provinces of Zambales, Nueva Ecija, and Batangas.
“Ibig sabihin po nun ay umaandar na ang kanilang mga ekonomiya. Ito’y mga malalaking syudad tulad ng Iloilo, ng Cebu, Ormoc, Tacloban, Butuan at Lucena City. Nagdagdag din po tayo ng mga probinsya, lalong lalo na ang Batangas, which is a major industrial hub at ang probinsya sa Nueva Ecija at Zambales. Napakaimportante naman po sa ating agricultural production at food production sa Pilipinas,” added Dizon.
Dizon said these LGUs were able to pass the IATF metrics set for de-escalation.
In total, 64 cities and provinces throughout the country are under Alert Level 1.
“Sila po ay pumasa na sa metrics natin ng fully-vaccinated, pagbabakuna ng ating mga elderly at dahil po dyan. We now have a total of 64 cities and provinces throughout the country that are already under alert level one and most of these are major cities throughout the country,” Dizon said.
| via Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon and Caecent N. Magsumbol/JMD