More than half of the country’s 1,634 cities and municipalities have been included in the list of places that will be under the most lenient COVID-19 Alert Level 1 for the first half of May, the Palace said Friday.
In a statement, acting presidential spokesman Secretary Martin Andanar said Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 1 until May 15.
This, after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the new alert level classifications that will be implemented from May 1 to 15.
For Luzon, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Baguio City, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Dagupan City, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, City of Santiago, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Angeles City, Olongapo City, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Lucena City, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Puerto Princesa City, Albay, Catanduanes, and Naga City will stay under Alert Level 1.
The Alert Level 1 classification in Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Bacolod City, Iloilo City, Siquijor, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc City, and Tacloban City has also been retained.
Iloilo province has been added to the roster of areas in the Visayas that will be put under Alert Level 1 from May 1 to 15.
In Mindanao, the places that will stay under Alert Level 1 include Zamboanga City, Camiguin, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Davao City, and Surigao del Sur and Butuan City.
The following component cities and municipalities will also be placed under Alert Level 1 from May 1 to 15:
• Cordillera Administrative Region: Tublay, Benguet
• Region 4-A: Candelaria, Quezon; Dolores, Quezon; and San Antonio, Quezon
• Region 4-B: Cagayancillo, Palawan
• Region 5: Caramoan, Pili, and Tigaon, Camarines Sur; and Capalonga, Camarines Norte.
• Region 6: Candoni, Negros Occidental and Tobias Fornier (Dao), Antique
• Region 7: Amlan (Ayuquitan), Negros Oriental and Duero, Bohol
• Region 8: Matalom, Leyte.
• Region 9: Jose Dalman (Ponot) and Labason, Zamboanga del Norte; Molave and Ramon Magsaysay (Liargo) Zamboanga del Sur; and Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay
• Region 10: Tudela, Misamis Occidental; Baroy, Lanao del Norte; Lala, Lanao del Norte; and Tubod, Lanao del Norte
• Region 11: Caraga, Davao Oriental
•Region 12: City of Koronadal, South Cotabato; Arakan, North Cotabato; and Lebak, Sultan Kudarat
• CARAGA: Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte; Santa Josefa, Agusan del Sur; Libjo (Albor), Dinagat Islands; and General Luna, Surigao del Norte;
• Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM, South Upi, Maguindanao and Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi. (
The provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), and independent component cities (ICCs) that will be placed under Alert Level 2 are as
follows:
• Cordillera Administrative Region: Benguet, Ifugao
• Region 2: Nueva Vizcaya
• Region 4-A: Quezon Province
• Region 4-B: Occidental Mindoro and Palawan
• Region 5: Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, and Sorsogon
• Region 6: Antique and Negros Occidental
• Region 7: Bohol, Cebu, and Negros Oriental
• Region 8: Leyte, Northern Samar and Western Samar
• Region 9: City of Isabela, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay
• Region 10: Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental
• Region 11: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro and Davao Occidental
• Region 12: General Santos City, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato
• CARAGA: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte
• BARMM: Basilan, Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
About 77 provinces, HUCs, and ICC are under Alert Level 1.
Meanwhile, the independent OCTA Research Group said a surge in COVID-19 cases was likely after the May 9 elections, following the detection of a case of the Omicron BA.2.12 variant of the coronavirus.
The surge, however, would not be as severe as previous surges, the group added.
The DOH announced on Wednesday that the Philippines has detected its first case of Omicron BA.2.12 in Baguio City in a 52-year-old Finnish female who arrived from Finland on April 2.
The number of close contacts of the Finnish female has increased to 44.
The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) on Friday said that no onward transmission of COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12 was reported after health authorities detected its first case in Baguio City.