BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Officials here are awaiting the action of a national task force following the appeal of Mayor Evelio Leonardia seeking to downgrade the Alert Level 4 status over this highly-urbanized center of more than half a million people.
Em Ang, executive director of the Emergency Operations Center that unifies and leads anti-COVID efforts, told DNX that regional health chief Adrian Subaan had assured Leonardia this morning of an endorsement for the downgrade of the heightened status to a possible Level 3 or 2.
Ang, who also oversees data collection and analysis as EOC chief, said the basis for the Alert Level 4 is COVID-related data from the DOH which could sometimes be as old as two weeks unlike that of the EOC that is “realtime.”
She pointed out for example that confirmed COVID cases had been down to two digits daily over more than two weeks but this was not reflected in the DOH data on which the IATF based its alert level.
