"What the mayors agreed on was that we will maintain Alert Level 3, and we will continuously monitor specifically [utilization] rates, but for the meantime the mayors see no need to raise to Alert Level 4," MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos told reporters at a press briefing Monday morning. This was because, Abalos said, the vaccination rate in the National Capital Region is "more than 100%" while the bed utilization rate in hospitals remains stable despite the ongoing surge. Under the pandemic task force's alert level system, Alert Level 4 is declared where cases are high and increasing, and hospital bed and intensive care utilization are high. The stricter alert level limits indoor capacity for businesses and venues to 10% and 30% outdoors. Asked how long the recommendation to retain Alert Level 3 would hold weight, Abalos said: "We really cannot tell, but we are continuously monitoring these.

Source: Philippine Star January 10, 2022 20:18 UTC