Philippines to remain under Alert Level 2 until yearend

The Philippines will remain under Alert Level 2 for the remainder of 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.

"The entire country will continue [to be] under Alert Level 2 beginning tomorrow, December 16, until December 31, 2021," acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing.

The decision was reached following a meeting by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases -- the government's policy-making body in COVID-19 response -- on Tuesday.

Nograles also said the guidelines for the community quarantine system has been repealed and that the Alert Level System has been adopted nationwide.

Under Alert Level 2 — the second lowest in the new alert level system — certain establishments and activities are allowed at 50% capacity indoors for fully vaccinated adults (and minors, even if unvaccinated) and 70% capacity outdoors.

[Read: What’s allowed and what’s not allowed under Alert Level 2]

Nograles said that while the number of COVID-19 cases is declining, the time is not yet right to be complacent amid the discovery of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

"We want to keep our people safe and we will do what is necessary. We still have to ramp up our vaccination [and so] we are being very cautious as we should," Nograles said.

"[The number of] countries which have cases of Omicron variant is increasing, and we don't know a lot about the Omicron variant yet. Likewise, we are also yet to finish the parameters for Alert Level 1," he added.

Nograles' announcement came on the same day the Department of Health (DOH) said two imported cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the country.   —KBK, GMA News