Senior citizens and children below 18 years old are now allowed to ride public transport under the more relaxed Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila.
Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Benhur Abalos clarified this Sunday in a radio interview Transportation Assistant Secretary Manuel Gonzales said minors were still barred from riding public transport even with an adult due to the absence of guidelines permitting them to do so.
“The children and elderly are now allowed to go out according to the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases). They are also allowed to ride public transport,” Abalos said.
He noted that public utility vehicles (PUVs) have already increased their passenger capacity to 70 percent.
Abalos said weekday operating hours of malls in the National Capital Region would also be extended starting November 15.
The new operating hours for Metro Manila malls from Monday to Friday would be from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Philippines logged on Sunday 2,605 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 2,803,213 as two laboratories were not able to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
The DOH also reported 191 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 44,430.
The country recorded 3,901 new recoveries, which brought the total recoveries to 2,725,257.
Active cases stood at 33,526, the lowest since March 1.
Of the active cases, 66 percent were mild, 5.7 percent were asymptomatic, 3.8 percent were critical, 9 percent were severe, and 15.41 percent were moderate.
In Metro Manila, 38 percent of ICU beds, 28 percent of isolation beds, 26 percent of ward beds, and 24 percent of ventilators, were in use.
The independent OCTA Research Group meanwhile said the NCR and most provinces were seeing a decline in COVID-19 cases, but the virus reproduction number was still critical in Pudtol, Apayao and Santa Ana, Cagayan.
"The delta surge is slowing down in the NCR and most provinces in the Philippines. However, there are smaller municipalities where outbreaks have occurred," said the research group. Davao City and Antipolo are at low risk.
Reproduction number refers to the number of people that may be infected by one case.
OCTA said the Reproduction Number was at 3.80 in Pudtol, and 2.17 in Santa Ana as of November 5.
It also said the healthcare utilization rate in Santa Ana as of Nov. 4 was also at 100 percent, also considered critical.
Furthermore, the research group said the average daily attack rate (ADAR) or the number of new daily cases per 100,000 was at 128.05 in Pudtol, and 51.01 in Santa Ana as of November 5, likewise in the critical level.
Lubang in Occidental Mindoro also had an ADAR of 80 as of that date.