Malacañang on Monday said the Covid-19 situation in Metro Manila had yet to reach a level where Alert Level 4 was necessary, even as infections in the capital region continued to soar.
In an interview over ANC’s Headstart, acting Palace spokesman Karlo Nograles said that hospital bed utilization in the capital region remained low amid the ongoing surge in cases.
“[F]or us to declare an area as Alert Level 4, dapat mataas ang two-week growth rate high, ang average daily attack rate is also high. But total bed utilization should also be high,” Nograles said.
“As of the moment, ang Metro Manila, nasa moderate pa tayo sa total bed utilization natin. So, it’s not enough for us to declare Alert Level 4,” he added.
According to the Department of Health, bed occupancy in Metro Manila as of Jan. 9 is at 59.6 percent, or 6,360 beds occupied out of 10,669.
Ward beds are 66.98 percent occupied, isolation beds are 53.89 percent occupied and intensive care unit beds are 52.12 percent occupied.
To be considered “high risk,” the occupancy rate must reach 70 to 85 percent.
“We will not hesitate to do Alert Level 4 if we see that it breaches the threshold,” Nograles said.
Metro Manila has 95,714 active Covid-19 cases as of Jan. 10. John Ezekiel J. Hirro