
THE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday clarified that the 26 provinces and cities under Alert Level 2 were not escalated from Alert Level 1 for April 16 to 30, 2023, contrary to news reports.
“Rather, these (26 provinces) have maintained their Alert Level 2 status since June 2022,” the DOH pointed out on Sunday night.
The DOH was referring to:
- Benguet
- Ifugao
- Quezon Province
- Palawan
- Camarines Norte
- Masbate
- Antique
- Negros Occidental
- Bohol
- Cebu Province
- Negros Oriental
- Leyte
- Western Samar
- Lanao del Norte
- Davao de Oro
- Davao del Norte
- Davao del Sur
- Davao Occidental
- North Cotabato
- Sarangani
- Sultan Kudarat
- Dinagat Islands
- Basilan
- Maguindanao
- Sulu
- Tawi-Tawi
While these areas have reached low risk classifications for cases and utilization rates, the DOH stressed that these provinces have vaccination rates lower than 70 percent of the target total and population and/or 70 percent of the total A2 population (senior citizens).
“Meeting these targets will allow these areas to be de-escalated to Alert Level 1. Also, no province or city has been escalated to Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 1 since January 2023,” the DOH stressed.
The DOH further clarified that the Alert Level System (ALS) continues to provide guidance for every Filipino, so that each may equip themselves with better layers of protection against Covid-19.
“The DOH continues to encourage those that are still unvaccinated, unboosted, or under-boosted to get the vaccines as soon as possible while it is still free of charge, especially for senior citizens,” it added.
Likewise, the DOH assured the public that they continuously work with the local government units of the identified provinces and cities to increase their Covid-19 vaccination coverage.
“Moreover, the DOH continues to monitor our health system capacity to ensure that Filipinos can continuously avail of healthcare services.”
“While some hospitals have reported some increases in admission, no hospital has reported full capacity,” the DOH pointed out.
It also reminded the public that as the country continue to reopen the economy, “we need to ensure that we are healthy.”
“This is not the good time to get sick. We have seen reports that some hospitals have increasing admissions for other diseases (eg. heart diseases) and these diseases account for admissions during prepandemic time.”
Also, the DOH warned that the ongoing El Niño heat may trigger worsening symptoms of other diseases.
The DOH encouraged everyone to be safe and healthy.
“Get vaccinated and boosted. Protect yourself and your family,” the DOH said.