CEBU, Philippines — Cebu’s three highly urbanized cities and seven other local government units in Cebu Province will remain under alert level 1 until the end of July.
The rest of the province will still be on alert level 2 for the duration of the same period along with the provinces of Bohol and Negros Oriental.
Siquijor remains under alert level 1 together with the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu and the City of Talisay. Also in alert level 1 are the towns of Alcoy, Borbon, Oslob, Pilar, Santander, and Tudela.
The town of Alburquerque in Bohol was the latest in the region to be deescalated to alert level 1. There are now 18 LGUs under alert level 1 in Bohol, including Batuan, Calape, Corella, Dimiao, Duero, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Maribojoc, San Isidro, San Miguel, Sevilla, Sikatuna, Garcia-Hernandez and Tagbilaran City.
For Negros Oriental, the LGUs under alert level 1 are Amlan, Bacong, Dauin, Dumaguete City and Zamboanguita.
The escalation or deescalation of alert levels of LGUs is still based on the previous IATF-EID metrics including total bed utilization rates, and vaccination thresholds for the target population and target A2 (senior citizens) priority group.
Moving forward, the DOH, upon instructions of the President and with the advice of health experts, is reviewing future directions for the COVID-19 ALS.
President Bongbong Marcos has also requested the DOH for recommendations on the updated membership of the IATF-EID to allow for faster science and evidence-based decisions.
While waiting for the changes, DOH as IATF-EID chair streamlines meetings and processes with clear directives to assist in safe reopening and will be utilizing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) platform.
“Makakaasa po ang ating mga kababayan na mananatili ang gabay pangkalusugan ng kagawaran. Amin pong inaaral kung paano natin maipaparating ng mas maigi pa sa taumbayan kung ano ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ng COVID-19 para sila ay makaiwas ditto,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire, Officer-in-Charge of the DOH. — FPL (FREEMAN)