Filipinos will have a merrier Christmas this year as the government expects to vaccinate at least 70 percent to 80 percent of the population in Metro Manila, the Palace said Thursday.
The optimistic projection came as an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the pilot implementation of the new alert level system with granular lockdowns in Metro Manila may be extended beyond September.
At a press briefing Thursday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said he was hopeful that the government would hit its goal of inoculating 70 percent to 80 percent of its target population in Metro Manila and that people would “somehow return” to their normal lives.
The Palace official also said Metro Manila, the center of economy, might be downgraded to Alert Level 3 from Alert Level 4.
“This is possible because many people are willing to be vaccinated while more vaccines are coming,” he said.
However, Roque said the decision on the alert levels lies with the Department of Health (DOH) in consultation with local government units (LGUs).
As of Sept. 22, a total of 6,760,863 individuals in NCR have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This is 69.16 percent of its target coverage.
On the other hand, 19,376,832 people nationwide have been fully vaccinated.
Roque said, however, that the public should not be complacent as the threat of the virus was still here.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview, DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said the pilot implementation of the alert level system with granular lockdowns could be extended to October.
Densing also said officials were considering revising some of the guidelines for the alert level system.
On Thursday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections may be on a downward trend, adding that “this is a testament of good care by our health care workers.”
Citing a drop in new cases, Duque said there were indications that coronavirus infections nationwide are starting to decline.
His assessment came as the independent OCTA Research Group said the COVID-19 reproduction number continues to improve in Metro Manila.
OCTA fellow Guido David said the National Capital Region’s reproduction number decreased to 0.99 from 1.03 in OCTA’s previous report.
He said the last time there was a reproduction number below 1 was in July before the surge.
The reproduction number refers to the number of people that each case can infect. A reproduction number greater than one means infections are spreading.
David said based on projections, the hospital situation in Metro Manila is likely to improve by the middle of October.
David also said the Philippines could possibly be in the last stages of its battle against the Delta coronavirus variant, especially in Metro Manila, given the decrease in the reproduction number.
David said the recent number of cases in Metro Manila and nearby regions has started to decline, indicating that actual cases are falling in line with the downtrend predicted this month.
The Philippines logged 17,411 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections to 2,434,753.
The DOH also reported 177 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 37,405.
The DOH also reported 14,090 persons who recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 2,231,558.
The positivity rate was 24.6 percent, based on test results of 71,010 individuals screened for the disease on Tuesday. The rate is the lowest in over a month or since Aug. 17.
There were 165,790 active cases, of which 92.1 percent were mild, 3.1 percent were asymptomatic, 0.7 percent were critical, 1.5 percent were severe, and 2.73 percent were moderate.
Nationwide, 79 percent of ICU beds, 66 percent of isolation beds, 72 percent of ward beds, and 56 percent of ventilators, were in use.
The ICU occupancy rate nationwide is the highest since data became available.
In Metro Manila, 80 percent of ICU beds, 60 percent of isolation beds, 72 percent of ward beds, and 62 percent of ventilators, were in use.
On Wednesday, President Duterte said he approved the recommendation of advisers that the use of face shields can be lifted in areas that do not fall under the 3C category: crowded, closed and close contact.
Densing said they would amend the memorandum circular on the description of crowded areas to be more specific.