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If the healthcare usage rate (HCUR) reaches the threshold for Alert Level 4, the national government would not hesitate to raise the alert level status in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby districts, Malacanang said on Monday.

This, according to Acting Presidential Spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, comes after the Department of Health (DOH) indicated that, because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases, Metro Manila may be moved to Alert Level 4 from the existing Alert Level 3.

“We’re actively monitoring all of the metrics and parameters that we need to look at, and even more.” At this time, hindi pa po siya tumatama doon sa tatlong metrics natin (it does not meet the criteria) for us to declare Alert Level 4. But if that happens, we would not hesitate to declare Alert Level 4 in any area or escalate any area to Alert Level 3,” he stated in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart.

To qualify for a higher Alert Level 4, the country’s two-week growth rate, average daily attack rate (ADAR), and healthcare use rate must all be at “high” levels, according to Nograles.

The first two measures, he noted, are currently high, but the healthcare usage rate is still “moderate.”

“As of now, ang Metro Manila nasa (is) moderate pa tayo sa (total) bed use natin, so it’s insufficient for us to declare Alert Level 4,” he continued.

According to Nograles, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Sub-Technical Working Group (sTWG) on Data Analytics has advised that hospitals and Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) in the NCR and neighboring areas boost bed capacity (NCR Plus).

NCR Plus is made up of the NCR plus the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and Rizal, all of which are close by.

He added that one of the criteria for identifying a “functioning” healthcare capacity would be the availability of healthcare staff.

“We’re also considering updating the available healthcare staff in the country so that they can be included in functioning bed capacities.” So, in addition to looking at the number of physical beds accessible in hospitals, we should also look at the number of healthcare staff available. As a result, that will now be our functional bed capacity,” he explained.

He went on to say that the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 Health Facilities Sub-Cluster and the DOH Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service had been directed to boost telehealth and telemedicine capability outside of the NCR.

He also mentioned that reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and immunization efforts would be intensified.

Hospitalizations are reduced.

Meanwhile, Nograles expressed confidence that becoming completely vaccinated against Covid-19 and booster doses will keep the country’s healthcare use rate from rising to alarming levels.

“What we’re seeing right now is that people who have been properly vaccinated only have minimal symptoms or are even asymptomatic, and their symptoms go away in two to three days… This is when the full-body vaccine effect comes into play. “Fully vaccinated people are less likely to end up in the hospital,” he said.

He reaffirmed his urge for people to get completely vaccinated and booster shots to protect themselves and others from Covid-19.

He continued, “We need to have more people properly vaccinated and boosted.”

With 28,707 new cases reported on Sunday, the Philippines saw the largest number of Covid-19 infections in a single day since the epidemic began, increasing the overall caseload to 2,965,447.

The positivity rate has now risen to 44 percent of the 77,479 tests conducted, more than double the previous week’s 19.60 percent and far higher than the World Health Organization’s threshold of 5 percent, which indicates controlled disease transmission.

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