Govt to classify ‘new normal’ areas

The government is laying out plans to classify areas with no new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases as “new normal” zones.

In a press briefing on Monday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) was preparing guidelines for Covid-free areas.

He made the announcement on the day the Department of Health (DoH) reported the daily
Covid figure soaring past the 2,000-mark.

He said the new normal classification had been approved in principle but the guiding rules were still being formulated.

Roque noted that areas which had not reported any Covid-19 transmission for a long time would likely fall under the new category.

Restrictions will likely be relaxed further in the new normal areas.

The IATF-EID is expected to announce next week the new quarantine classifications that will take effect in February.

Metro Manila, Batangas, Lanao del Sur, Iligan City, Davao City and Davao del Norte are under general community quarantine.

The other municipalities and cities are under modified general community quarantine.
The Health department said 2,163 new Covid-19 cases were reported Monday, bringing the total caseload to 502,736.

Davao City topped the list with 134 cases, followed by Cagayan with 100; Quezon City, 99; Leyte, 93; and Cavite, 75.

The DoH said 92.4 percent of the 26,839 active cases are mild, moderate or asymptomatic.
Only two persons were added to the recovery total, which stood at 465,988, while 14 people were added to the death toll, which is at 9.909.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the seven-day average in the past week
had jumped to 1,500 cases, higher than December’s 1,000 to 1,300 average.

Most of the increases were outside of the National Capital Region such as Cebu City, the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley.

Vergeire said the DoH was determining if the rise in cases signifies the projected surge after the Christmas holiday.

The case numbers dropped during the Christmas season because several laboratories had suspended testing.

The trend in the following days will determine if a surge is already happening, Vergeire said.

With reports from RED MENDOZA