The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Saturday said it saw no need to impose a curfew in the National Capital Region, because residents have shown discipline in the middle of Alert Level 3.
“We’ve seen pictures that at about 8 p.m., restaurants in malls are already closed and only a few people were spotted outside their homes. They have shown discipline,” MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos said.
Abalos showed some images of different malls and spaces in Metro Manila supposedly taken on Friday, which was quiet and empty.
“We thought that for the meantime, there’s no need for a curfew. In a way, our countrymen have learned when to self-regulate as these variants emerge. You do not need to tell them when not to go out, because they know it is infectious,” he explained when asked if there were any minors caught violating curfew in Metro Manila.
“We are seeing fewer people out in the streets and at malls. You can no longer see anyone around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m,” Abalos added.
The shift to Alert Level 4 status in the NCR and neighboring areas is possible but only if the hospital bed utilization rate for COVID-19 patients increases to 71 percent, acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles explained on Saturday.
Nograles, also the Cabinet Secretary, said the escalation of the quarantine classification would also take into consideration the two-week growth rate, average daily attack rate (ADAR), and health care utilization rate.
The ADAR is the number of new cases over a certain period divided by the population.
The hospital bed utilization rate in NCR is at 60.03 percent, while the intensive care unit bed utilization is at 55 percent as of January 13.
“We are really actively monitoring our total bed utilization rate. So right now, it is still at 60 percent. It has not yet hit 71 percent,” Nograles said in a radio interview.
The government also monitors the classification of the patients using the hospital beds, he added.
“We want to emphasize that hospital beds should be reserved for COVID-19 patients with severe and critical symptoms, the elderly, and those with comorbidities or those we call our vulnerable population,” Nograles said.
Mild and asymptomatic patients can quarantine at home or stay in facilities if they have no area where they could isolate.
Abalos clarified to ABS-CBN News that it was up to local governments to impose curfew for minors.
“There’s no curfew in Metro Manila, except curfew for minors of some LGUs even before the pandemic . . . Some LGUs have, some LGUs don’t have,” he said.
“There’s no uniform ordinance for minors. Local government units have autonomy. Kanya-kanya ‘yun (it is up to them) . . . It was even (that way) before the pandemic.”
Mayors in the capital region, home to some 13 million people, also decided to keep the same alert level until the end of the month because of the safe healthcare utilization rate despite the surge in cases, Abalos added.
The Metro Manila Council agreed on a stay-at-home policy for those who are still unvaccinated or have yet to complete the full dose against the respiratory disease.
