Duque says he prefers to keep Philippines under Alert Level 2

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday expressed his preference for the Philippines to remain under Alert Level 2.

"Maganda na sa alert level 2 muna tayo…I’m sorry if I’m a bit conservative," Duque said in an interview on "Balitanghali."

However, he said, the final decision will depend on the Inter-Agency Task Force.

“Kasi as to the current Alert level 2 marami na rin tayong taong nakikita, maramin na rin ang nagpapa-safety seal at marami na rin ang nababakunahan so tumataas rin yung kanilang capacity,” he said.

Earlier, the Department of Health reported that the National Capital Region has recorded an increase in cases from the previous week as well as an increase in positivity rate.

Despite this, NCR and all regions in the country remain at minimal risk for COVID.

For her part, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH will still monitor if the uptick in cases will continue.

Vergeire further said there is the threat of the Omicron variant to consider.

“So we are guarding against that so hindi po tayo pwedeng basta magbukas ng mas malawak at mag-ease ng restrictions, lalong lalo na ngayon that we are trying to prevent the entry of this new variant dito sa ating komunidad,” she said at a media briefing.

(So we are guarding against that, so we cannot just open widely and ease our restrictions, especially now that we are trying to prevent the entry of this new variant into our community.)—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News