The alert level systems during the pandemic will be adopted nationwide after being successfully pilot- tested in Metro Manila.
AFTER being pilot- tested in Metro Manila, the alert level systems for COVID 19 will be adopted nationwide following the signing by President Duterte of Executive Order No. 151.
The expanded implementation of the scheme, which focuses on isolating Covid-19 cases in granular lockdowns, is expected to allow more businesses to operate as well as generate more employment opportunities.
Aside from using granular lockdowns for areas with high concentrations of infections, the ALS will simplify the nomenclature for health protocols, which since its adoption last 2020 became a joke among the people who referred to it as the pandemic alphabet.
Four phases
The EO stipulates that ALS will be divided in four phases.
The first is that enforcement will cover the areas where the ALS is currently being piloted like the National Capital Region (NCR) as well as regions 3, 4A, 6, 7, 10 and 11.
Phase 2 includes Regions 1, 8, and 12, while the third phase will apply to Regions 2, 5 and 9.
The final part of the rollout covers the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions 4B, 13, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“The shift to Phase 2 may begin at any time after the effectivity of this Order, as may be determined by the IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases], but not later than the end of November 2021,” Duterte said in his four-paged EO.
“The succeeding phases shall then commence every week thereafter until full nationwide implementation,” he added.
Until an area is covered by the ALS, it will continue to adhere to the Community Quarantine guidelines stipulated under EO 112, Series of 2020.
EO 151 will take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
ALS allows almost all establishments and activities in areas under Alert Level 4 to 1, except for some deemed high-risk for spreading Covid-19 infections. These will have restricted venue capacity, which may range from 10 percent to as high as 70 percent.
Duterte authorized the IATF to amend the said IATF guidelines for ALS without the need of his authorization.