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Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 3 from November 1 to 14
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The pilot implementation of the Alert Level System has been expanded to Regions 3, 6, and 10 starting November 1 to 14.
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A new list of countries and territories under the green, yellow, and red lists has been released
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has kept Metro Manila under Alert Level 3 even as it approved expansion of the pilot implementation of the Alert Level System to Regions 3, 6, and 10 starting November 1 to 14.
Under IATF Resolution No. 146-A, Bataan and Iloilo City were placed under Alert Level 3, while Baguio City was included as an area for special monitoring.
Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Siquijor, Davao City, and Davao del Norte will remain under Alert Level 3 from November 1 to 14.
Aurora and Bacolod City were placed under Alert Level 4 while Negros Oriental and Davao Occidental will also remain under the same alert level from November 1 to 14.
Now under Alert Level 2 from November 1 to 14 are Angeles City, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Olongapo City, Pampanga, Tarlac, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo province, and Negros Occidental.
Batangas, Quezon Province, Lucena City, Bohol, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Cebu Province, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental, meanwhile, will remain under Alert Level 2 for the same period.
Zamboanga City will keep its modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status from November 1 to 15; Mountain Province and Catanduanes were also placed under the same restrictions for the same period.
Remaining under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions from November 1 to 30 are Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, City of Santiago, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
Under GCQ from November 1 to 30 are the following:
- Luzon: Ifugao, Benguet, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Sur, Dagupan City, Batanes, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Albay, Naga City, and Camarines Norte
- Visayas: Tacloban City
- Mindanao: Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, General Santos City, Sarangani, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Butuan City, Dinagat Islands, Cotabato City, and Lanao del Sur
All other areas in the country will remain under modified GCQ (MGCQ) for the whole month of November.
The alert level system refers to the new community quarantine classifications for dealing with COVID-19, and covers entire cities, municipalities and/or regions with the aim to manage and minimize the risk of disease transmission through the use of system indicators, triggers, and thresholds as determined by the IATF.
The system was pilot implemented in Metro Manila on September 16 and has been expanded to several other areas since October 20.
There are five alert levels under the guidelines of the system and the following are the basis for Alert Levels 2 to 4:
- Alert Level 2 – areas where case transmission is low and decreasing, healthcare utilization is low, or case counts are low but increasing, or case counts are low and decreasing but total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate are increasing
- Alert Level 3 – areas where case counts are high and/or increasing, with total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate increasing
- Alert Level 4 – areas where case counts are high and/or increasing, with total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate at high levels
For Alert Level 4, certain establishments or activities will be allowed to operate, or be undertaken at a maximum of 10% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 30% outdoor venue capacity provided the businesses or activities have been issued a Safety Seal Certification.
For Level 3, certain establishments or activities will be allowed to operate, or be undertaken at a maximum of 30% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50% outdoor venue capacity.
For Level 2, certain establishments, persons, or activities will be allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at a maximum of 50% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and those below 18 years of age, even if unvaccinated, and 70% outdoor venue capacity.
Certain business establishments in areas under Levels 3 and 2 that are awarded Safety Seal Certifications will be allowed to operate at an additional 10% beyond the prescribed on-site or venue/seating capacity, whichever is applicable.
The IATF, meanwhile, also approved and released the updated list of countries/jurisdictions/territories that are part of the green and yellow lists from November 1 until November 15, 2021.
Green list countries and jurisdictions are considered as low risk for COVID-19 based on their disease incidence rate, while those on the yellow list are classified as moderate risk. Countries and jurisdictions under the red list are considered high-risk.
Countries/jurisdictions/territories on the green list include Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, China, Comoros, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hong Kong, Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
Latvia is the only country on the red list while all others will be on the yellow list.
The IATF likewise approved the creation of a sub-technical working group headed by the Department of Transportation that will formulate and propose recommendations for special pilot testing and quarantine protocols for Filipinos, balikbayans, and their families coming from green and yellow list countries.
