BAGUIO CITY (PIA) - - The City of Baguio and the provinces of Abra, Apayao and Kalinga are deescalated to Alert Level 1 while Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province remain under Alert Level 2 from March 1 to 15.
The Inter Agency Task Force on February 24 amended the matrix for determining the alert level of provinces, highly urbanized cities and independent component cities upon the recommendation of the Sub – technical Working Group on Data Analytics.
In the amended guidelines for the National Alert Level System, there are four requirements to be complied to be under Alert Level 1.
These are low to minimal risk case classification; less than 50 percent health care system bed utilization rate; at least 70% of the target (80% of the PSA 2022 Projected Population) must be fully vaccinated, and fully vaccinated Priority A2 must be 80% of the target (85% of senior citizen population in the area).
All Cordillera provinces including Baguio City met the requirements in terms of the epidemic risk level and Health System Capacity, however, Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province fell short in the vaccination accomplishments.
As of the February 27 data of the Department of Health – Cordillera, the region is classified under minimal risk epidemic level with a low 2 – week growth rate(2WGR) of negative 81 percent, low Average Daily Attack rate (ADAR) of 2.83 percent and Hospital Care and TTMF Utilization rate of 15% and 3%, respectively.
All provinces and Baguio City are also under minimal risk with low 2WGR and low ADAR and are also classified as low risks in terms of Health System Capacity with low utilization rates in both hospital beds and TTMFs.
On the vaccination requirement of fully vaccinating 70%of the targets, Baguio City has accomplishment rate of 102%, Abra at 89% and Apayao and Kalinga are at 76%, while Mountain Province- 66%, Benguet and Ifugao 52%.
Department of the Interior and Local Government – CAR Regional Director Araceli San Jose said the transition to Alert Level 1 of some Cordillera LGUs is a welcome development as it is a sign that we are now transitioning to the new normal but she reiterated the importance of remaining cautious and conforming to minimum public health standards.
“Transitioning to new normal is not just the job of the government, but all of us. Kailangan magkaisa at sumunod pa rin sa mga health protocols para sa ating kaligtasan at kinabukasan”, she stressed.
“Our LGUs under alert level number 1 still have new cases everyday hence we are not yet off the hook”, she added.
DOH – CAR Regional Director Rio Magpantay also reminded that though Alert Level 1 means lesser restrictions and increased mobility, the public must remain alert and ensure continued compliance to the minimum public health standards.
“As we continue to gradually transition into the new normal, let us stay adaptive to the changes that come with it. Sabi nga nila. Alert Level 1 na, pwede ng rumampa mga ka – BIDA. Pero dahil nasa pandemya pa rin tayo, ating mga safety protocols huwag nating kalimutan”, he said.
Magpantay is hopeful that as more people get vaccinated and boosted, the entire region will be under level 1 soon. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)